


Sickening Feeling

by Esmeia



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Comedy, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Love, Pining, Romance, husk being an unexpected matchmaker, poor alastor doesn't know how to process these feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-01-26 19:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21379390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esmeia/pseuds/Esmeia
Summary: Alastor is unsure how to deal with this stupid little feeling in his chest, and seeks out help from an unlikely source.
Relationships: Alastor/Charlie Magne
Comments: 371
Kudos: 1752





	1. That Sickly Sweet Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy, I haven't written a proper fanfic in, like... years.
> 
> But after seeing so many talented writers absolutely killing it lately, why not try and jump back into it? Oh, and being obsessed with Charlastor helps. That helps a lot, actually.
> 
> Please excuse my God-awful, rusty writing. But do feel free to offer up criticism, I'd like to get better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, I haven't written a proper fanfic in, like... years.
> 
> But after seeing so many talented writers absolutely killing it lately, why not try and jump back into it? Oh, and being obsessed with Charlastor helps. That helps a lot, actually.
> 
> Please excuse my God-awful, rusty writing. But do feel free to offer up criticism, I'd like to get better!

The red-clad deer demon walked briskly down the hallway, his default Cheshire grin somewhat strained as he moved with slightly panicked purpose. It had been a very long time – possibly decades – since Alastor experienced that warm, nagging, _disgusting_ feeling deep inside his chest. He had a good mind to write it off as heartburn, but the side of him that wasn't in adamant denial knew exactly what this feeling meant.

And this simply would not do. No, sir! It was downright unacceptable.

The clicks of Alastor's hoof-like shoes momentarily broke through his racing thoughts as he descended the flight of stairs leading directly into the lobby of the Hazbin Hotel. Once there, his blood red eyes quickly scanned the room for his target. When he didn't immediately find him, Alastor's head rotated a sharp 180 degrees to find Husk, who nearly jumped out of his fur at the disturbing sight.

“Yeesh! I wish you wouldn't do that! It's damn creepy,” the cat-like demon growled, narrowing his eyes in disgust. He sighed deeply as Alastor walked over to the bar, dreading what was to come. “What, you want a drink at this time of day? Never figured you for a drunk.”

“No, no! Not interested in –” Alastor paused, carefully considering his situation. He sat down in one of the cushioned seats, stowing away his microphone in a puff of magic. His eyes softened into a tired expression, and the radio static died down completely. “Actually, I think I will have that drink. Wine, if you please.”

Husk's eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by the uncharacteristically melancholy look of the Radio Demon. Grabbing a glass and a bottle of red wine, he eyed Alastor suspiciously as he poured him a drink. If that was all the dapper demon wanted from him, then Husk should be grateful for the simple request and go about his own business. But he'd never seen the toothy asshole like this before, and Husk's eyes gleamed with increasing curiosity.

Setting the glass in front of Alastor, Husk closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

_Let's hope curiosity doesn't kill the cat this time..._

“Hey, uh...” Husk started awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You look kinda out of it. You wanna talk about it or something? I mean, it ain't any of my business, but it might... make you feel better or some shit. I dunno.”

Alastor had been about to down the wine in one smooth move, but paused at the unexpected inquiry. He raised an amused brow at Husk, who crossed his arms and pouted in his trademark surly way. “Well, well! It looks like Charlie's little rehabilitation initiative is working like a charm already! If I didn't know any better, my furry friend, I'd think you actually _cared_ about me.”

Husk frizzled up, scandalized. “I don't! You're a huge pain in the ass! Look, if you don't want to answer the question, then –”

Alastor laughed and held up a hand to stop Husk's inevitable profanity-filled tirade. “My apologies. I shouldn't have poked fun. I actually did want to talk to you about something that's been nagging me for a while now. Not sure if you have any expertise with this kind of thing, though.”

Husk settled down again, crossing his arms. “Oh yeah? Try me.”

Alastor's eyes darted around the room for any potential eavesdroppers. For good measure, his ears flicked to pick up any sounds of those hidden from his piercing gaze. He couldn't risk anyone hearing about this outside of Husk – especially not Angel Dust or Vaggie, of all people. He could barely accept the revelation himself.

Satisfied that they had total privacy, Alastor leaned in closer. “I may have come to fancy someone. Caught feelings, as some might say,” he hissed, wincing slightly at the soft confession.

Husk's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. A tense moment or two passed before he carefully used his clawed pinky finger to clean out a bit of wax from his ears, shaking his head in disbelief. He had obviously misheard.

“Sorry, didn't catch that. For a second there, I thought you said you were in love.”

Alastor's eyes narrowed and his smile twitched, it now more akin to a scowl. “I did.”

Husk simply stared at him, gobsmacked. “You? YOU? **You're in love?**”

“Sure, yes, whatever!” Alastor's head whipped around to make sure no one had overheard Husk. “And I'd appreciate it if you kept your voice down. This is strictly confidential, between two longtime acquaintances. Understand?” he pressed, his fangs glistening in warning.

Despite the threat, Husk began to grin. It was just so ridiculous: the infamous Radio Demon, _smitten?_ Alastor, a man who'd been infamous during his mortal life for coldly murdering who knows how many innocent people – and reinforced this bloodthirsty reputation well into his time in Hell – was now sitting here confessing to a crush like some hopeless school kid? This was too rich!

“Let me guess: it's that bubbly little princess, isn't it?” Husk snickered, nearly bursting out in outright laughter when Alastor's face lightly reddened and his ears perked at the reference. “I can't believe it! I mean, I _did_ wonder, though. You'll crush a poor bastard's bones if they so much as touch you without your say-so. But you waste no time getting right in Charlie's face whenever you can, and you don't even flinch when she's crushing you in one of those hugs of hers. Looking back, it was pretty –”

“Please don't say it was obvious,” Alastor groaned, rubbing his temple as he felt a headache coming on. “Look, I came to you because I wondered if you might have some advice. To get over it. There's no way I can go around feeling... _this_. I'm here to see these sinful fools struggle and alleviate my boredom, not fixate on some wide-eyed idealistic princess.”

Husk grinned, shaking his head in a pitying way. “Oh, you're shit out of luck there, Al. Dames have a way of getting under your skin, even if you don't want them to,” he said sagely. “And who says you have to get over Charlie? Hell, she might just like you back, terrible taste aside.”

“Not sure if you've noticed, but she's already spoken for,” Alastor flatly replied, rolling his eyes at the thought of Vaggie. No matter how many times he threatened or shoved her aside so he could have some one-on-one time with Charlie, the fiery woman always found a way to intervene and put a hard stop to his attempts. “It's a small miracle if I can get Charlie alone to talk about anything without her pesky little ladyfriend hovering over us.”

“Since when does anyone in Hell care about getting in the way of someone's relationship?” Husk asked, somewhat baffled at the notion of decorum. “And you don't exactly strike me as the kind of guy who cares about a little competition.”

Alastor drummed his fingers on the smooth counter-top, swirling the contents of his wine glass thoughtfully. Husk was right, of course: when the Radio Demon set his sights on something, it was only a matter of time until it was his. Even when he was just a fresh-faced little radio host, none of the unfortunate souls he'd decided to crush stood a chance of escape once he committed himself to the hunt.

But Charlie Magne was not just any old prey: she was special, something he didn't quite want to capture and sadistically toy with. No, she elicited that genuine desire in Alastor to be a gentleman and woo her with a soft finesse. Like his dear old mother had raised him to do.

He found he rather liked the sound of that – for now.

Husk whistled softly, snapping Alastor out of his musings. The cat demon had been watching him closely as he navigated his complex thoughts. “Wow, you really _are_ into this girl. It's kind of pathetic!”

Alastor's eyes narrowed down to glowing red slits. “You're really testing my limited patience, my feline fellow. I'm not so inebriated where I can't send you flying into those bottles of booze behind you,” he said in a low growl, eyes flicking over the assortment of alcohol behind Husk. The crackle of the usual radio had returned and faint images of dials could be seen in his eyes.

Husk held up his clawed hands defensively. “Woah, calm down. My bad! I'm just... amazed. Why did you come to me for this, anyway?” he asked, pouring himself a beer.

Alastor finally took a sip of his wine, tapping a foot irritably. “You're the closest thing I have to a friend, I think. Well, besides Niffty. And we both know she can't keep a secret to save her life – even if she tried her very best to. I can imagine the little darling getting so excited at the prospect of playing matchmaker that she'd go running straight to Charlie,” he laughed, fondly shaking his head as he spotted Niffty a distance away sweeping up a bit of dirt from a hallway, humming merrily to herself all the while.

“Yeah, you're right about that,” Husk agreed. He couldn't help but feel just the **tiniest** bit flattered that Alastor trusted him with this juicy little secret. He couldn't stand the smug fuck, yet he couldn't deny that he found him intriguing. “Well, I can probably help you out. I had a few girls in my time, you know.”

Alastor's ears perked up and his usual bright smile returned. “You will? Thank you, I really appreciate your – wait. There's a catch, isn't there?” he realized, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“You know it,” Husk laughed, resting an arm on Alastor's shoulder. “But we can talk about my terms later. For now, just let your ol' pal Husk teach you how to win a girl's heart. This is gonna be a riot,” he snickered, taking another hearty swig from his mug.

It took every bit of willpower in Alastor to not fling Husk in a random direction or snap back with an insult. But then he caught sight of Charlie walking through the lobby with some newcomers. The sweet blonde met his gaze and smiled, waving at him cheerfully as she lead the group on a tour. Despite himself, Alastor lightly wiggled his fingers in a casual greeting. He supposed he could put up with the ridicule and give whatever this was a try. At the very least, it'd be interesting to see where it lead, courting the princess of Hell.

Downright entertaining, even.


	2. An Exception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you all so much for the feedback and kudos! I didn't expect the first chapter to go over that well and was content to leave it as a silly little one-shot, but people have been super kind and constructive in their responses that it inspired me to make this a full story.
> 
> I have all of it planned out already, so I'll try and update this bi-weekly, or at least once a week. Maybe I'll draw some illustrations too, who knows!

Alastor shrugged off his pinstriped coat before gently affixing it to a hook on the wall near his bedroom door. He slipped out of the undershirt and replaced it with a simple black shirt, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. No use getting his best clothes bloody, even if he doubted the stains would stand out among all the red he constantly sported. He opened the door and peered down both directions of the hallway outside, listening closely. But only the distant sounds of general mayhem typical of Hell could be faintly heard from beyond the hotel.

_Good. Tonight's a lovely night for a hunt, and it'd be a shame to let it go to waste..._

Humming a soft and cheerful little tune, Alastor used a bit of his magic to lock his bedroom door behind him.

Noiselessly, he walked briskly down the hallway, down the expanse of stairs, through the empty lobby, and outside the front doors of the hotel. Once outside, he pulled out his copy of the key – Charlie had been proactively kind enough to give him one as co-owner (much to Vaggie's protest) – and locked the entrance before melting into his shadow form. This incorporeal state allowed Alastor to move about with impressive ease and speed, flowing seamlessly from one dark corner of the city to another in a matter of seconds. He snaked through his surroundings until he arrived at his destination: a large forest just on the outskirts of the city. The red moon filtered through the thick expanse of trees, bringing forth a curious mix of nostalgia and exhilaration.

The woods were always the ideal place for Alastor to seek out his unwitting prey. And the urge to sink his teeth and claws into flesh was particularly strong tonight; stress had been building up inside him all week, and he desperately needed a release.

Ever since Alastor had become fully aware of his feelings for Charlie, he just couldn't seem to relax around her. While he had always been the eccentric, even _he_ realized his recent behavior was odd. Every time Charlie smiled at him or touched him in any capacity (which, to his chagrin, was often), Alastor would immediately seize up and fabricate some random excuse to get as far away as her as possible. Worse yet, The Radio Demon caught himself smiling just a bit too tenderly at Charlie whenever excitedly rambled on about the progress of one of their slowly growing number of tenants. Alastor even ended up _stuttering_ from time to time, and second-guessing himself when he called her “sweetheart” or “dear”. Sure, these terms of endearment were normal for him, but they now held so much more meaning. Alastor hoped to Lucifer Charlie wouldn't catch onto the fact that she was rapidly becoming his undoing.

All of this recent nonsense repulsed Alastor as much as it made his heart flutter. Honestly, he hated Charlie for doing this to him. She had to take responsibility for it, somehow.

Husk would have to pay too, come to think of it. Not wanting to complicate things for him, he had suggested Alastor start small and just talk to Charlie like before, taking pleasure in her general company.

“It's good to start with small chat. You know, see what Charlie likes and dislikes. Knowing her interests makes it easier for you to plan dates and gifts and other cheesy stuff like that. And hey, it could help you figure out why you're so head-over-heels in the first place,” Husk added with a smirk, knowing Alastor was still in a slight state of shock from it all. He began rubbing his scruffy chin thoughtfully as he recounted all of his old flames. “Man, this is taking me back. Never even thought of this stuff in years...”

“Is that all? That's pretty standard,” Alastor had said with a laugh, waving a careless hand. “Easy like a Sunday morning, even!”

But ignorance been such sweet bliss!

It really _should_ have been simple, pretending like nothing had changed between him and Charlie. But it began to dawn on Alastor how her opinions actually mattered to him, how every silly little thing she said or did sent him into overdrive, how he wanted to look just a bit more favorable in her eyes...

This was all deeply, infuriatingly complicated. Shaking his head, Alastor's desire to take out this pent-up rage on something – or better yet, **someone** – grew to a fever pitch.

The unmistakable aroma of his favorite food snapped Alastor out of his brooding. He crouched down behind a large fallen dead oak, eyes gleaming in the hazy darkness of the night as he caught sight of the delicate form of a doe gently grazing on a small hill nearby. Her tiny hooves moved carefully through the grass in an attempt to minimize her presence. The demon almost pitied the poor creature; little did she know that her fate was already sealed.

The doe's ears flicked softly at the rustling of dead leaves, and Alastor felt his own flick, as if in sync with hers. He rolled his eyes, resisting a frown as he remembered another conversation with Husk.

“Aha! I've got it!” Husk piped up one afternoon, unusually excited as he snapped his fingers at the epiphany. Alastor turned to him expectantly, eager for some kind of breakthrough. Honestly, he felt a tad guilty rushing away from Charlie whenever she tried to start a conversation. But his smile wavered when he took in the wide grin stretching across Husk's face. “Now, I know you're not gonna like this idea. But just hear me out.”

“That's none too comforting,” Alastor chuckled dryly, shaking his head. “Go on, then. What have I got to lose at this point?”

“A lot,” Husk said under his breath.

“Pardon?”

“So! Girls love cute things, right?” Husk suddenly asked, to which Alastor slowly nodded in response. “Now, let me make this perfectly clear: you are the farthest thing from that.”

Alastor's eyebrows knit together sharply. “Did you derail the conversation just to insult me like that?”

Husk barely bit back a laugh. “No! I mean – yeah, a little. But I'm going somewhere with this, trust me.”

“Go on,” Alastor said through gritted teeth.

“I had this girl way back when. You know, back when I wasn't some weird cat thing,” Husk began, a rare wistful smile softening his features. “When I was walking back home from work, there was some bum on the corner giving away puppies. I didn't really think much of it, but I picked out one of the little runts, cleaned him up, and nursed the little guy back to good health. Then I gifted him to her a few days later: even wrapped a little red bow around his neck and everything. My gal absolutely loved him. Took me several minutes to get all the lipstick marks off my face!” Husk laughed, and Alastor couldn't help but marvel at how genuinely happy Husk looked as he recounted the memory. “She was over the moon for weeks.”

“And here I thought you'd lost the ability to love,” Alastor smirked. “How sweet.”

“I have!” Husk snapped, his deep scowl returning in an instant, though alongside a soft blush as he cleared his throat. “I'm just bringing up an example so your hopeless ass can better understand the concept of giving a shit about someone else. The point I'm getting at is: chicks love that cute animal shit. And you being a deer... type... **thing**,” he motioned wildly at Alastor's form. “Well – you know!”

Alastor's head tilted in genuine befuddlement, the radio static screeching softly. “No, I'm afraid I don't know. You might just have to spell it out for me, my friend.”

Husk smacked his palm against his forehead in exasperation. But that smug grin soon returned as he leaned back, anticipating how the other demon would react to what he was about to say. “No tip-toeing around this, huh? What I'm getting at is... you've got those ears and tail. Why don't you be her little Bambi or something?”

Alastor's stood stark still, dumbfounded. It almost looked like he had shut down completely, simply staring wordlessly back at Husk.

All at once, Alastor's irises shrunk down to small dots, radio dials spinning wildly inside of them. His antlers branched out to something more akin to an actual stag's, his interlocking teeth bared and a black, blood-like substance began to seep between them. He leaned onto the counter and his claws dug easily into the hard wood as he loomed over Husk, who, despite the waves of adrenaline shooting through his veins, couldn't help but laugh. This just infuriated Alastor more: he was practically seeing red as static flared up around him, distorting the area around them. The few demons that were lounging in the lobby beat a wise and very hasty retreat.

“My good fellow, I regret to inform you that you seem to have suffered the most grievous of brain injuries! Because I simply cannot believe you just compared me to some overrated, saccharine cartoon deer,” Alastor seethed, his grin unnaturally splitting across his face as he barely restrained himself from grabbing Husk around the throat and strangling him. His voice had lowered from the usual chipper tone; the total lack of radio filtering reminded Husk that he was only mere feet from a serial killer. “**I'd sooner skin you alive and make a stuffed animal out of your remains to give to Charlie before I did something like ****that****.**”

Husk gulped, clutching a bottle of beer to his chest. If this went on, he was liable to break it in his trembling claws. The smile was long-gone from his face, but he did manage to tear his eyes away from his would-be attack and focus somewhere behind Alastor.

“Careful, Charlie's watching. Might not wanna splatter my insides all over the lobby with your girl as witness.”

In an instant, the murderous atmosphere evaporated and Alastor returned to his default smile and polite stance, looking around nervously for Charlie and prepared to put on the best innocent act of his afterlife. When he didn't find her, he shot a death glare at Husk, who was bent over in laughter.

“I know where you live,” Alastor fumed.

Husk wiped away a tear, holding up his other hand in surrender. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry. But I _am_ serious. Girls really like it when you show your softer side. It's not very easy for guys like us,” he admitted with a smirk, shrugging his shoulders. “But you'll learn pretty fast that love means compromise. You're gonna have to take a shot to the ego, Al.”

He flexed his clawed hands, fresh crimson blood dripping generously from it. He looked down at the now still doe, the deep wounds he inflicted on her neck gleaming in the moonlight. It had been quick and relatively clean – perhaps even relatively painless. Usually, Alastor enjoyed getting his prey to run, to try and escape the inevitable as he cut off all means of escape.

Alastor peered into the big – and now lifeless – eyes of the creature whose life he'd just extinguished. They reminded him of Charlie's own bright eyes. Perhaps that's why he couldn't find it in himself to drag out the suffering things time.

He bent down and easily hoisted the catch over his shoulder, despite his lithe frame. Alastor let out a tired sigh: the hunt had done little to alleviate his stress, but at least he could look forward to the fresh taste of venison. He walked back towards the city, whistling as he enjoyed the uncommonly cool breeze brushing through his hair and cool his skin.

Before long, he had reached the front steps of the hotel; he glanced up at the nearest windows and was glad to see them darkened. Using his free hand, he reached down into his pocket –

“Alastor? Is that you?”

His body froze. Slowly turning around, Alastor was now facing Charlie standing a small distance away from him. She was wearing a jacket and seemed to have just returned from a jog or late-night walk. She stared at the limp deer over his shoulder and his blood-stained hands and arms. She quickly looked down at the ground, looking almost embarrassed.

“Ah...” Alastor breathed, not sure what to say. “I didn't expect you to be up at this hour. I try to keep my occasional hunting trips a secret. For obvious reasons,” he added nervously, turning his body away slightly so that she wouldn't see most of his bleeding cargo. “I sorry that you had to see me like this.”

Charlie quickly shook her head. “No, it's okay! Hunting isn't something to be ashamed of. I mean, if it is, it's gotta be very low on the list of bad stuff you can do down here,” she reasoned, waving her hand dismissively.

Alastor felt his smile widen. “You make a very good point. There's worse things I could have brought home, hm?”

Charlie rolled her eyes, smiling. “Oh, definitely.”

Alastor watched Charlie silently as she repeatedly glanced over to his kill. His eyes narrowed in deep consideration, fighting an internal battle. Finally, his irritated sigh cut through the awkward silence as he began climbing the stairs. Charlie flinched slightly, reaching out to him on impulse. She immediately began to worry that she had offended him. She hadn't meant to stare, but, ironic as Charlie knew it was, the princess of Hell was squeamish around blood and gore.

“Al, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this so awkward,” Charlie called to him, prepared to gently grab his hand. But paused just before doing so, remembering him mentioning before (particularly to Angel Dust) that he didn't like being touched. Sure, he didn't seem to mind when she hugged him or touched his shoulder due to her own exuberance, but Charlie didn't want to push her luck either.

“No need to apologize, my dear. I'm just storing this away, is all. It is a ghastly sight for a gentleman to be carrying around a carcass. I'll be careful not to make a mess,” Alastor added, unlocking the front door carefully. He politely motioned for her to go before him. “Please wait for me in the lobby.”

Charlie looked up at him, curiosity piqued. “In the lobby? Sure, okay!”

Once Charlie was inside, Alastor closed and locked the doors behind them, plunging them into darkness save for his luminous eyes. He snapped his fingers and a few candles in the chandelier above sparked to life, bathing the immaculate lobby in its warm glow. Charlie settled down comfortably on one of the sofas as she watched Alastor easily carry his catch up the stairs and out of sight.

Left alone, the princess lightly kicked her feet like a small child as she awaited his return, a surprising amount of anticipation welling up. Truth be told, Charlie _had_ noticed Alastor was acting somewhat strangely as of late. Or rather, not the usual strangeness she had come to enjoy from him. She thought they had hit it off really well, but he seemed to prefer distancing himself from her now. She began to wonder if maybe Alastor was having second thoughts about helping her run the hotel.Charlie frowned, dreading that worrying possibility. Sure, Alastor was upfront with the fact that he wasn't in it for any noble ideal, and she had accepted that. But what if things had become too dull for him to want to continue this? The Radio Demon was under no obligation to stick around: after all, Charlie had “commanded” him to help with the hotel for as long as he desired and nothing more. While she didn't regret declining a deal with him, a tiny part of Charlie wondered if he'd be more likely to stay if she did...

“...Charlie. Charlie?”

“Huh!?” Charlie jumped. She looked up and blushed when she saw Alastor standing in front of her, his lidded eyes peering down at her with amusement. He had changed out of his casual wear and was now in his usual attire, with no evidence of his kill to be seen. “Oh, sorry! How long have you been there?” she asked, embarrassed.

“Not long,” Alastor chuckled, sitting down beside her. “I can tell that my hunt rattled you. It's the reason I'm so discreet about it. Well, until tonight.”

Charlie beamed, eyes twinkling. “You mean you hid it for my sake? Al, that's so sweet!”

Alastor rolled his eyes and turned his face away from her, feeling his cheeks burn slightly. “Don't read too much into it, now. It was for the hotel's reputation.”

“Uh huh,” Charlie smirked, crossing her arms. She bit her lip to stop herself from teasing him further. “Well, I do appreciate that.”

“Still, I was careless. I'll be more mindful of when I do that in the future. To make up for it, I... I...”

Alastor froze. How the hell was he supposed to segway into what he was about to do? Should he just drop it and say goodnight? He cursed himself for not asking Husk how exactly he was supposed to go about this. He made a mental note to start writing down these tips in a notebook or something so that he could meticulously plan out this whole flirting thing.

_Oh, to Hell with it!_

Throwing caution to the wind, Alastor leaned forward carefully until his head was bowed slightly in Charlie's general direction, careful to not accidentally stab an eye out with his little antlers. Charlie looked at him in bewilderment, her big eyes blinking comically. Alastor felt his cheeks burn in humiliation, but he didn't retreat.

“Oh! Uh...” Charlie mumbled, blushing a bit at Alastor's closeness.

“You can... touch them. If you like,” Alastor said lowly, clenching his eyes shut and fighting the mounting urge to bolt from the vicinity and hole himself up in his room forever.

_Why am I doing this? What even _ _ **is** _ _ this? Where is that damn cat when you need him most? I swear, I'm going to string him up and –_

But when he looked back up at Charlie, half-expecting her to have run off, her eyes were sparkling and an ecstatic fanged smile was on her face. She was practically bouncing in her seat!

“D-Do you mean it? I can touch your ears? Are you sure!?” Charlie asked, squealing as she looked at the perfectly fluffy pair of ears on top of his Alastor's head. Realizing how giddy she was, she calmed herself down with some difficulty and put her hands in her lap in a hilariously bad attempt at being reserved. “I-I mean, you don't have to do that, Alastor.”

“I insist,” Alastor replied, confidence back in his voice. It was adorable, seeing her try and resist his offer. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime privilege from the Radio Demon, sweetheart. You'll hate yourself in the morning if you let this kind of deal pass you by,” he went on with a teasing grin. But then he cut his eyes at her. “On the condition you don't breath a word of this to **anyone**.”

Charlie smiled, nodding her head rapidly. “Of course – I mean, I promise I won't tell a soul! You can trust me!”

“Good,” Alastor breathed, relieved. He lowered his head a bit for the smaller demon. “Go ahead, then. Before I lose the nerve for this entirely.”

Charlie's bounciness returned and she squealed softly as she very carefully brought her hands up to Alastor's head. With great care and tenderness, she touched and petted the remarkably fluffy ears. Alastor's body tingled and he nearly melted into her lap as she seemed to work him like putty in her hands, her starry eyes marveling at how face reddened and the his usual grin melted into a blissful, adorable little smile. Charlie half-expected, half-hoped to hear a purr come from him. They sat there for what felt like ages, her happily feeling Alastor's ears as they gazed contently at each other in the quiet serenity of the lobby.

That was, until the sound of a nearby door opening cut through the silence. In a flash, Charlie removed her hands from Alastor and they pair leaned away from each other, faces scarlet as they tried their best to appear natural. To their relief, the tiny form of Niffty, still clad in her pajames, walked into view. She rubbed sleepily at her single eye before smiling and waving at the pair.

“Good morning,” Niffty yawned, heading for the nearby supply closet. “Thought I'd get some cleaning out of the way nice and early today.”

“T-Thank you for being so on top of things, Niffty!” Charlie squeaked.

“Yes, you're doing a marvelous job keeping the hotel spic and span,” Alastor added more casually, nodding his approval.

Niffty beamed at the complements, practically skipping away with her cleaning trolley. “It's no trouble at all! Cleanliness is next to godliness, they say. Whoever 'they' are,” she added with a shrug before leaving the lobby.

Charlie and Alastor let out relieved sighs, glad that their little moment went unnoticed. She turned, smiling up at him.

“Thank you, Alastor. That was... uh,” Charlie struggled to find the words to express how she felt without it being too creepy. “I always wanted to – yours are really –” She took a deep breath, cheeks lightly flushed. “I'm glad you trusted me with that. It was really nice, sitting here with you and... bonding? I missed you.” she said with a bashful smile, looking away.

Alastor's eyes widened and he felt like he had been hit with direct sunlight. He covered his mouth and looked away for a moment, trying to compose himself as his face heated up. Did she have to be so direct like that?

“Think nothing of it,” he replied smoothly, getting up and bowing politely. “I'm glad it helped. It... _did_ help you feel better, right?” he added, hoping he didn't just humiliate himself in vain.

Charlie laughed, grinning. “Yes, you dork!”

“Good,” Alastor said, smiled genuinely for what felt like the first time in ages. He made a show of stretching, feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Loathe as he was to admit it, the tension that hung between them the past few days had effectively melted away. “I hope you savored it, then. Consider it a rare treat. I've got a reputation to uphold, after all.”

Charlie giggles as she saw Alastor's ears wiggle slightly. It was gonna take _all_ of her willpower to not tell Vaggie about what she'd just gotten up to with the Radio Demon, but there was no chance of her ruining the trust Alastor had just showed her tonight. In fact, the realization that he trusted her this much made her even happier. “It''ll be our little secret.”

He looked at her proudly before turning on his heel, holding up a hand in farewell. “Goodnight, Charlie.”

“Goodnight, Al. See you in a few hours,” she replied, making her way toward the kitchen for some tea as he headed back to his bedroom. She shook her head in awe as she walked, smiling. “What a guy...”

The following morning, Alastor was so refreshed that he happily made himself busy in the kitchen making an impressive breakfast for everyone. As the group sat down to eat and chat, Husk peered over his huge stack of pancakes to see Alastor easily holding a lively conversation with Charlie, looking as close as ever before. He grinned knowingly to himself before drinking some of his coffee.

After everyone had eaten their fill and began dispersing to start the day, Husk walked beside Alastor as they followed a distance behind the group. The smugness on his face was insufferable, and Alastor looked down at him in slight annoyance.

“So~?” Husk said, looking meaningfully between Alastor and Charlie a few feet ahead of them.

Alastor was tempted to feign ignorance, but he was in far too much of a good mood to deny Husk his opportunity to gloat. After all, his advice had worked better than even he had hoped.

“I followed your advice and I think we've broken the ice, yes,” Alastor admitted, twirling his staff cheerfully. “You were right. It's hard for even I to imagine, but you know what you're talking about,” he couldn't help but add with a smirk.

To Alastor's surprise, Husk's smile only grew; it was a smile not unlike his own at this point. “Way to go, Bambi! I knew you could do it!”

Husk cackled and narrowly avoided Alastor's immediate frenzied attempts at slicing him with his claws.


	3. The Way To A Princess's Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ughhh, I already broke my attempt to update at least once a week! I'm sorry guys! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to continue this, I'm just a huge scatterbrain and have the toughest time finding a way to kick off each chapter.
> 
> So, to make up for it, you all get two updates for next week. This story ended up having more chapters than anticipated, but I'm more than okay with that!
> 
> And thank all of you SO much for the kind comments! I will definitely try to reply to each one, but if I also forget to do that too, please know I read every single comment you leave and am deeply honored for the kudos and bookmarks as well. I love you guys.

Charlie smoothed out her usual pink top, excited to start a brand new day. Much to her intense pride and joy, her ambitious rehabilitation project had survived its initial disastrous opening and the Hazbin Hotel had really taken off! Okay, maybe that was a _bit_ of an optimistic exaggeration: but they now had fifteen residents enrolled! That was absolutely amazing!

“Vaggie, we should celebrate!” Charlie said with barely restrained jubilation, taking the smaller woman's hands in her own and bouncing up and down. “What restaurant should we go to? We've been so busy with work that we haven't had any time to really let it all sink in. You feel like something fancy? Casual? Oh, I know! Maybe we can ask Alastor to make everyone a special feast! That'd be _perfect_.”

Vaggie winced at the mere suggestion of it. _Perfectly terrible, you mean! Ugh, damn that demon..._

“Charlie, please don't let all of this go to your head. That's really not a lot, considering how many more rooms are still left open. And keep in mind that all of them are likely taking advantage to get a free room and food,” Vaggie reminded her girlfriend for what had to be the hundredth time that week. She folded her arms and glared at one of the newcomers as he headed upstairs with a sandwich and chips, shaking her head in disapproval. “I love seeing you excited, sweetheart. I really do! But don't forget that we could have a bunch of moochers on our hands. You know, like with Angel Dust,” she added pointedly.

“Hey! I said I was sorry! Like, a lot!” Angel Dust snapped back, rolling his mismatched eyes. “Isn't forgiveness supposed to be a virtue or somethin'? I'm still here trying to go clean, ain't I? When are you gonna let it go, Vag?”

“When I can be sure you won't get into another stupid turf war and drag our names through the mud again! And I told you not to call me that!” Vaggie shot back, narrowing her good eye at the now pouting spider. When he stomped away from her, she turned back to Charlie, breathing in deep to quell the mounting anger. “Hun, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. I just want you to be realistic. I'd hate to see you get hurt because you give **some people** too much credit.”

Charlie smiled down at her partner, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I know, and I appreciate you keeping me grounded. You're right: there's no way we can know whether a patient is here because they honestly want redemption, or just passing time until they go right back to doing bad stuff again. But the only way we'll know is to give them a chance, an opportunity to be better. It's all we can do,” the princess reasoned with confidence. She waved at a young male hellhound; he turned away with a cute little huff before resuming his texting. “I have faith in my people, Vaggie. We just have to be patient.”

Vaggie could only look back and give Charlie a small, pitying smile. She adored Charlie, she truly did. But she had a strong feeling the young princess was getting in way over her head with this possibly doomed passion project. She'd wouldn't dare admit it out loud, but Vaggie couldn't deny that the many detractors had a point: no one in Hell was here due to some small mistake in their mortal lives. They'd committed horrendous, unjustifiable acts to earn themselves a spot here. Charlie, having been born a demon, couldn't possibly understand the lines people had to cross to be deemed irredeemable. It was simply beyond the understanding of someone as innocent as she, who spawned from the literal Devil; her idea of right and wrong had to be at least a little off-kilter.

Still, Vaggie wanted to be there for Charlie, even if they couldn't see eye-to-eye on everything. She bit her tongue when it came to a lot of Charlie's choices: Vaggie was confident she could neutralize any potential threat that reared its ugly head with the delivery of a solid punch or the swipe of her trusty spear.

Vaggie swore to protect her angel, no matter what.

But there was one thing that Vaggie couldn't have ever prepared for, much less fight against in any meaningful way. A certain red-clad, toothy bastard who seemed to taunt her with how easily he snaked his way into their lives. He was like a poisonous mist, slowly infecting everything around him. It sent chills down Vaggie's spine wondering when it would all come crashing down, just for the sadistic amusement of the infamous Radio Demon.

_Speak of the Devil_, Vaggie thought with a sneer as Alastor strutted down the hallway. Her blood boiled at the sight of his smug face, especially when he made a beeline toward Charlie.

“Good evening, ladies! I've got quite the feast planned for tonight!” the Radio Demon announced theatrically. “Hope you're all good and hungry, because it's going to be a real treat. We've got to celebrate the success of our new business venture, don't we, Charlie?”

“Yes, exactly! I was just telling Vaggie about that!” Charlie practically glowed in response. She placed a hand on her hip and wagged a playful finger at Alastor. “Hey, were you eavesdropping or something? It's like you read my mind just now!”

“Perish the thought, sweetheart! I like to think that we just naturally have that much in common,” Alastor replied with a wink, earning a giggle in return. Vaggie actually heard herself growl as she watched the exchange, hating how easily he got into Charlie's good graces. He acknowledged the moth with a quick glance, and she could have sworn she saw that despicable grin grow. “Any requests for dinner? I have a few things in mind, but I'd value your input.”

“Feel free to cook whatever you'd like, Al! I'm sure we'll all love it,” Charlie said confidently. “Al, it's so nice of you to cook dinner for us every night. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Well, like my dear ol' mother used to say: 'too many cooks spoil the jambalaya'. That saying may be a bit off, now that I think about it,” Alastor said with a laugh, shrugging his shoulders. “But I don't think your company could ever do such a thing, darlin'! I'd love your help. It's a pretty big dinner I have planned tonight, and I'm sure it'll go by much faster with your company.”

Vaggie's eye twitched. Was he...?

As Charlie moved to follow Alastor into the kitchen, Vaggie's hand reflexively shot out to grab the other woman's arm. Charlie looked back at her curiously, as did Alastor – and Vaggie swore she saw a flash of annoyance – but he continued on his way, his radio playing an upbeat little number as he went off to prepare dinner.

“Charlie, I don't want you spending time alone with that creep,” Vaggie said lowly. “Can't you see he's up to no good? Why is he so friendly with you?”

“Vaggie, please. Al's been a huge help around here and I'm just trying to show my appreciation,” Charlie countered. “Besides, I'm just helping him cook! It's the least I can do. You were right, I _was_ kinda out of my league with this hotel,” the blonde admitted with some difficulty. Vaggie gasped and made to protest, but she held up a hand. “No, it's okay! I have to cop to that. But if it wasn't for Alastor coming by when he did, I'm not sure where we'd be right now.”

Vaggie bit her lip, her insides writhing. She despised the idea of Alastor swooping and fixing things so easily where she completely floundered. And with how willing Charlie was to go to bat for him, it seemed his manipulation had already begun in earnest. She had to think fast if she hoped to put a stop to it.

“I mean, it's just dinner! What's he gonna do, pull a knife out and use me as an ingredient?” Charlie joked, laughing at the idea.

“Well, he _is_ a cannibal. That's entirely possible,” Vaggie said with deadly seriousness, her eye narrowing. “He'd know how to hide all the evidence...”

Charlie's nearly bugged out of her head in shock. “Wha – for real?! I knew he was just a serial killer! Wait – **just**? That's not good either, what am I saying?!”

The moth demon threw her head back in laughter. Charlie was so much fun to mess with sometimes. She took in the innocent form of her lover and smiled genuinely. Maybe she should lay off a little; the more she pushed, the more Charlie would stubbornly resist. Vaggie would just have to keep an eye on Alastor and play smarter.

Or maybe she'd do well with a little bit of help...

“Okay, _mi amor_. Go and help,” Vaggie relented softly, cupping Charlie's face in her hands tenderly. “Just be careful. Keep in mind what kind of person he is. I'll trust you to know when he's up to no good.”

Charlie pressed a gentle kiss to Vaggie's palm, giving her girlfriend a reassuring smile. “Thank you, sweetie. If you can't trust Al, then you can definitely trust me to handle myself. I'll toss some garlic at him or something if he starts eyeing one of the knives,” Charlie joked, giggling. She pulled away and headed after Alastor, waving back at Vaggie. “We'll be done soon! Hopefully I don't end up eating too much of it while I'm in there helping. That man can cook!”

Vaggie waved back, keeping her smile even. The minute Charlie was out of sight and earshot, she let out a soft but distinct little whistle. In a puff of sparkly red magic, Razzle and Dazzle – Charlie's ever-loyal pets/butlers – arrived at her summons. The little demonic goats straightened out their uniforms before trotting over to her, bleating cheerfully in greeting. Vaggie leaned down and petted both of their heads, glancing back at the kitchen entrance to make sure Charlie hadn't doubled back.

“Go keep an eye on Charlie, okay? Report back immediately if anything strange happens,” Vaggie whispered. “But keep it discreet, boys.”

Razzle and Dazzle tilted their heads at Vaggie curiously, but nonetheless nodded their understanding at her instructions. In another puff, they disappeared. Vaggie straightened up and began making her way down into left lobby, sighing.

“I'm sorry, Charlie. But I have to do what I have to do.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Ah, there you are, my dear! I've been expecting you!” Alastor said with a relieved smile when as he caught Charlie entering the kitchen, looking up from the recently freshly shelled crawfish, crab and shrimp in front of him. “I was beginning to wonder if you'd changed your mind.”

“You kidding? Cooking with you sounds amazing!” Charlie gushed, taking a free apron near the doorway. “I hope you don't mind me being kinda new at this. I never really had to cook for myself before, considering how I was raised. Mom and Dad always insisted that there were people who could do that for me,” she murmured with a roll of her eyes.

“I'm sure you'll do fine, sweetheart,” Alastor said warmly, and Charlie's cheeks reddened at his seemingly genuine kindness. He walked over to her and stroked his fingers through her soft goldilocks, earning a surprised little squeak from the girl. “First we need to tie up your hair.”

“Oh! Yeah, good point,” Charlie said, nodding. She lifted her hands up to begin tying her long hair into a ponytail, but Alastor surprised her by gently taking most of it in his hands and stepping behind her.

“Not to worry, I can do it for you. If that's alright with you?” Alastor asked, glancing down at her.

Charlie smiled up at him and nodded her approval. “Oh, go for it! Thanks, Al.”

Alastor's eyes softened as he looked down at the soft hair bundled gently in his clawed hands. He could smell Charlie's gentle peppermint perfume and felt himself nearly lost in the ecstasy of her mere presence, reaching his free hand into his pocket for a hair band. Expertly, he maneuvered his hands through the long hair, neatly moving the locks into a clean ponytail, marveling at how it easily flowed. As he did so, Alastor caught sight of the soft porcelain skin of Charlie's neck, his grin twitching. Quickly finishing, he took a step back to admire his handwork.

Charlie turned and curtsied, making Alastor roll his at her endearing silliness. “How do I look, good sir?”

“As lovely as ever, my dear!” Alastor said with an exaggerated swoon, laughing.

“Oh, you're a charmer! I've gotta watch out for you, Al,” Charlie grinned, moving her hand in a bashful gesture. “Let me just wash my hands and we can get down to business!” She walked over to the sink and pumped a bit of soft hand soap into her hands, lathering them well under the warm water. “What's on the menu for today?”

“I was thinking of going with my favorites tonight: creole crawfish etouffee, cajun crab cakes, and cajun-spiced smoked shrimp rémoulade. Oh, and beignets for desert,” Alastor replied. He chuckled as Charlie's eyes twinkled in excitement, not unlike an overexcited little puppy. “My my! Does that sound good to you?”

Charlie dabbed a bit at her mouth with the paper towel she'd used to dry her hands, almost sure she'd been drooling. “Absolutely! S-Sorry, I know I'm not being very princess-y. It's just you're an excellent cook. I always have, like, four helpings of it every night. Angel always asks where I'm putting it all,” she added with a giggle.

Alastor's heart raced at her praise: he often bragged about his culinary skills, but to know Charlie genuinely loved his cooking delighted him to a ridiculous degree. His mama always said that good food was the key to a man's heart, but maybe it worked just as well on the ladies. He gently took Charlie's hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. She tensed for a moment in surprise, but immediately relaxed when his ruby eyes met hers.

“Nonsense, sweetheart. You are enchanting just the way you are. I wouldn't have you any other way,” Alastor said softly.

Charlie looked up at him with those innocent eyes of hers, and Alastor felt that familiar sweet predatory instinct stir. He noted the pink blush tinting her already distinctly rosy cheeks – as well as the coy little smile – as she looked back at him. Her smaller, delicate hand hadn't made any move to leave his gloved one, and instead had instinctively curled gently to hold his. Her free hand was shyly curling a few loose strands of her hair around it.

It was at this moment that Alastor realized that he could make Charlie his. If he played his cards right, he could inflict the bewitching affect on her as she did on him. This would be much more fun than he had ever imagined! Now the fun would really begin.

Alastor straightened up, forcing himself to cease the flirtation. He didn't want to overwhelm the poor girl, or reveal his own feelings too much. Not yet, anyway.

His ears twitched subtly and his eyes flashed. Oh yes, he had to be _very_ careful. They were not alone.

“Now, let's get started, assistant! You can help best by mixing up the ingredients. Meanwhile, I'll manage the ovens,” Alastor instructed, handing Charlie a bowl and gently steering her back to his freshly prepared batch of ingredients. “I've written down the instructions on these handy little cards over here, but if you need my help on anything, don't be afraid to ask. I have the utmost confidence in you, Charlie.”

Charlie radiated with enthusiasm, looking over the cards and carefully scooping the crab meat into a bowl. “You can count on me! Oh, this is gonna be _so_ good.”

And so Alastor and Charlie collaborated, happily chatting away as they moved in easy synchronization around the kitchen. Naturally, Alastor took up most of the more involved tasks, but he was impressed and grateful for his lovely assistant's contributions. The way she devotedly checked his recipe cards and asked if she was doing things to Alastor's liking, her cutely sneaking little bites of the food and squishing her cheeks in delight. It was all so **disgustingly sweet**, but Alastor, for once, simply basked in Charlie's company and ignored the part of him that loathed to admit to such soft feelings. He gently placed his radio staff on the counter and put on some catchy electro swing music, a fun little fusion the two of them. The pair even occasionally got so caught up in the music that they'd find themselves in an impromptu song and dance.

It was all so cozy, so familiar...

So much so, that Alastor very reluctantly removed the last batch of crab cakes from the ovens, knowing that this signaled the end of their little pocket of paradise.

“Wow, time really flew, didn't it?” Charlie marveled, proudly looking over the impressive spread they'd created together. She licked her lips, somehow fighting the urge to grab a plate and chow down ungracefully in front of Alastor. She turned to him with a shy smile, hands behind her back to keep them from doing just that. “We were having so much fun, I didn't even realize we were all done.”

“My thoughts exactly!” Alastor chuckled, using a moist towelette to clean some seasoning from Charlie's cheek. “It was lovely, wasn't it? We should do this more often.”

“It was! I had no idea cooking could be so much fun. Especially with you,” Charlie mumbled, and Alastor felt his eyes pop open in surprise. Just when he thought he'd gotten a handle on the butterflies in his stomach, the princess somehow managed to unleash an even bigger flock of them with a few sweet words. “I'd love to do it again sometime.”

“Then we shall!” Alastor replied immediately, inwardly flinching at the naked eagerness in his voice. “I-I mean, if you'd like to. I love your company, my dear.”

“Then I'll take you up on that. Don't you complain when I end up burning the whole kitchen down one of these days, though!” Charlie said with a mischievous grin, causing them both to laugh. She peered over at the beautiful pile of beignets, bouncing where she stood. She looked up at Alastor like a small child desperate for a treat. “D-Do you like sweets, Alastor? You're so good at making them.”

Alastor laughed, greatly amused at her obvious hinting. “Me? Oh, gracious, no! I don't care for sweet things,” he replied, eyeing the lightly sparkling doughnuts with disinterest. His eyes flicked back up to Charlie. “Well, for _most_ sweet things. There are exceptions, of course.”

Charlie felt her face heat up. “Y-Yeah?”

“Truth be told, I make them mostly for you,” Alastor went on, gently plucking one of the warm sugar-frosted treats. He walked over to Charlie and leaned down, his short hair framing his face and sharply reminding Charlie how handsome the Radio Demon was. Her breath caught as he drew closer and she found herself backing away slightly. Less out of fear, and more of surprise. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he'd easily surprise her with his boldness and willingness to close in like the seasoned hunter he was. Charlie's backside pressed up against the side of the counter and she found herself trapped, staring up at the tall man before her. Her heart raced as she took in his intoxicating scent and the warmth of his body. His fanged smile was now inches from her, and Charlie cursed herself for staring up at him with her mouth so agape.

But Alastor reveled at the sight: Charlie was like a doe caught in the headlights.

Before she could stutter out her words – whatever they may have been, her mind had gone utterly blank at this point –, Alastor gently popped the beignet into her mouth. Her little fangs bit down gently on the soft surface, humming in delightful surprise. Alastor leaned up a bit, smiling as he watched Charlie happily nibble at the sweet .

“I know how much you adore sweet things, so I always take the time out to make them. I figured it's something special I can do for my hardworking new business partner,” he smirked, gently pinching Charlie's adorable little cheeks. “Maybe a part of me can't help spoiling you a little!”

Charlie nearly choked at Alastor's soft admission – the bright blush on her face was especially obvious due to her pale skin. She knew that the Radio Demon was likely up to something, and so she tried her best to keep that in mind whenever he worked his charms. Like she'd told Vaggie multiple times, she was not naive; they were in Hell, and no matter how much she wanted to help her subjects, she couldn't ignore the circumstances of their very existence.

But then Alastor would throw Charlie one helluva curveball and have her questioning everything she thought she knew about him. Despite his bloodthirsty legacy and dubious intentions, Charlie couldn't help but notice that the Radio Demon seemed to swoop in just in time and help her save her hotel, just when she felt it was all hopeless and that she was destined to fail. Since he came into her life, he'd been nothing but helpful in making her dream a reality, and Charlie couldn't deny she was already extremely fond of Alastor, with his infectious charm and fun personality. And him being an excellent singer and dancer certainly didn't hurt either.

And, of course, there was that night in the lobby. As Charlie had promised, she didn't breathe a word of their moment to anyone, but the memory easily brought a smile to her face every time she recounted it. Now she often caught herself staring up at Alastor's ears for an indicator of his emotions, and often found herself wondering what other cute little secrets he had hidden underneath that fearsome persona he'd cultivated over the years. These moments of tenderness and vulnerability fascinated Charlie to no end.

Charlie took Alastor's hand and smiled up at him, giving it a squeeze. “Al, I don't think I've properly thanked you yet. For everything. N-Not just for the food,” she added with a laugh, finishing off the beignet. “I mean, for all that you've done for us. I thought I'd have to give up on the hotel before it even got off the ground, and then you came along and turned it all around. I really appreciate all that you're doing.”

Alastor was left stunned at the unexpected reciprocation, reeling back a bit in a hilarious inversion of their situation only moments earlier, the bubbly little blonde now too much for him. A twinge of... _something_ shot through his chest at her words. Guilt? Happiness? Excitement? Hunger? Maybe a weird amalgamation of it all? Alastor wasn't sure. But he didn't totally hate it, what Charlie did to him. It was interesting – addictive, even.

“Like I said before: I see big things coming your way. And I want to be here to see it all happen,” Alastor replied after a moment of gathering his composure. “No need to thank me. It's always a pleasure, sweetheart.”

“I-I'm glad!” Charlie said, suddenly noticing how long they'd been holding hands. She very gently and politely removed her hand from his, moving to lift up one of the trays of food. She playfully bumped her hip against Alastor's as she passed by. “We'd better start setting the table! I'm sure everyone in the hotel can smell all this delicious food by now.”

Alastor grinned, easily picking up two of the other trays and following his princess into the dining room. “Don't think I didn't catch you sneaking a lot of 'samples', Charlie.”

“Who, me? Never!” she laughed, batting her bambi eyes innocently. “That hurts, Al! I'm a perfect little angel.”

“You've got me there!” Alastor chuckled, winking back. “You're so charming, you could get away with murder. Or maybe you already have? Who knows!”

Charlie hid her blush by playfully pushing him a little. “I have not! You're one to talk, Mr. Slasher Smile!”

After they'd set the table, Charlie summoned her beloved goats to summon everyone down for dinner. Alastor side-eyed the little butlers, his grin widening more as they scurried past him. Oh, yes, he'd _definitely_ been spied on: one of his shadows had reported to him when Charlie had been preoccupied helping him cook. Alastor had to admit to being very impressed with Razzle and Dazzle's ability to go completely unseen; had it not been for his constant companions, he may not have noticed them either.

But now the question was _why_ they'd been sent to keep tabs on him.

_I doubt it's Charlie herself who put them up to the task_, Alastor mused, pouring himself a glass of wine as he sat down at the table between Charlie and Husk. _I think I've earned at a decent amount of her trust from her by now._

Alastor's eyes narrowed as his mind went into overdrive trying to pin a possible culprit. Could it be that Lucifer and Lilith had caught wind of him helping their daughter and were putting their own plan in motion? That was an intriguing scenario, indeed. If that were the case, then Alastor would get that thrilling level of entertainment much sooner than he'd thought!

Yet...

Alastor's eyes a flickered over to Vaggie who, as always, was right at Charlie's. They were chatting away as they ate, oblivious to his piercing gaze. The moth's eye met his stare for a moment before immediately breaking contact again.

But that was all Alastor needed; his grin widened. Interesting.

Alastor chuckled darkly into his wine glass, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as his grin became more maniacal. Oh yes, a large part of him bristled at the woman's gall. Less that she'd planted spies, but more out of her daring to think she could play this kind of game with him at all. Alastor had crushed much smarter sinners than Vaggie like an insect under his heel. He had a good mind to tell Charlie about her girlfriend's bit of scheming, and relish seeing such brazen interference backfire spectacularly in her face. Now, that would be quite the after-dinner show!

But Alastor restrained himself; above all else, he was a patient and calculating man – especially when he was determined to get what he wanted. While his time with Charlie had been genuinely enjoyable, it was also a test. That spark of hope, that sliver of potential to make her his, was all the Radio Demon needed. It was time for a hunt, and his prey was far too precious for him to tolerate being denied.

Alastor almost pitied the foolish girl; she simply had no idea what was to come.


	4. A Little Too Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So far so good with my promise to get two chapters up before Sunday night! :'D
> 
> This one came to me much more easily, and I already have the rough draft for the next one set aside and needing clean-up. I'm also slowly correcting any issues of past chapters, and I'm sorry if there's a lot of mistakes throughout.
> 
> And once again, thank you all for reading! My heart is full of love and you guys are a huge factor in me maintaining the drive to finish this story. Gotta do it for the Cult of Charlastor... //shakes fist
> 
> Oh yes! The song used here is “Bad Boy Good Man” – Tape Five (Aerophon Mix). I'm making a Charlastor shipmix and this was one of the songs most stuck in my head for them, I love it so mucccchhh.

Humming softly, Alastor tapped his foot against the hardwood of his bedroom floor as struggled to focus on the new book he'd bought while out shopping for hotel supplies that morning. It had been a highly covert purchase: a randomly picked romance novel. The demon smirked in amusement at his own strange choice in literature: while a significant part of his mortal life had begun to slowly phase out of memory after spending decades in Hell, Alastor was confident that he'd never read such mindless fluff before. And this wasn't even at the suggestion of Husk: in fact, his feline friend had approved of the progress he'd been making with Charlie thus far and encouraged him to try out things for himself for a little while. If a snag came along – or Alastor was completely out of his element – he'd be there to help.

“I really should get Husk a thank-you present,” Alastor found himself casually muttering. He was hardly the charitable type – Charlie was just an exception. Truth be told, he was a bit of a penny-pincher; money had been hard to come by growing up, and Alastor could still recall how much his parents had to struggle to keep food on the table. But Husk had undeniably been a huge help so far. “Or maybe I can shave a few years off his debt. He might appreciate that even more...”

Alastor yawned, resting his chin on his palm for support. As his weary eyes took in the flowery prose, he felt his eyebrows furrow. It felt like he was about halfway through this God-forsaken thing and nothing of any real interest had happened yet! The guy was boring as sin and the girl barely any better. Where was the spontaneous love songs? The man sweeping his lady love off her feet in a dance? Why couldn't one of these fools just spit it out already?!

He supposed it was all supposed to be endearing, but Alastor was only left with the realization that this kind of stale courtship wasn't at for him. Surely he could add his own spin on the art of romance? Even before he'd fallen in love, he'd always been good at charming women with barely an effort. He'd just have to pull back on his more... violent tendencies once Charlie was his, is all.

Snapping the book firmly shut, Alastor stood up to stretch his lethargy away. As boring as the reading had been, it left him with a renewed determination. It was a lovely day out – well, as lovely as the nightmarish landscape they called home could be. If he played his cards right, he might be able to invite Charlie on a nice little picnic before either of them were missed.

Grinning with anticipation, the Radio Demon placed the novel down on the center table of his bedroom. He summoned his radio companion and headed for the door, his mind already working out how to invite Charlie without his intentions being too clear. He quickly crossed the hallway to Charlie's room, knocking politely. To his pleasant surprise, she answered quickly and was already dressed in her normal lovely attire. He bowed down a bit in a gentlemanly fashion.

“Good evening, Charlie! It's a nice day out and I wondered if you'd like to go on a picnic,” Alastor offered cheerfully. Charlie's eyes lit up, but he held up a hand to gently interrupt her. “Just the two of us.”

For a tense moment, Alastor felt dread burn at his insides when Charlie didn't answer him right away. Her eyes widened in surprise at his proposal before looking away, biting her black lips nervously. Alastor felt his usual confidence rapidly crumble and the urge to retreat bubbling up.

Had he moved too fast? He he been too bold? Had he been mistaken in thinking Charlie felt something more for him in the first place?

“Ah. I-It doesn't have to be anything so serious!” Alastor began to babble, waving his hand in a desperate attempt to brush off his own mortification. That damn stutter was creeping in at the worst possible moment, sending the man scrambling to recover his pride. Had he been _this_ hopeless when talking to pretty girls when as a human? “No! I mean – we're business partners, yes? It'd be good for us to discuss plans for the hotel going forward. But, of course, if you've already got plans today, I completely understand.”

“Oh, no! No, I'd love to go on a picnic with you!” Charlie quickly assured him. To Alastor's nearly dizzying relief, her usual perky smile had returned. But she fidgeted a little, glancing down the hallway. “It's just... Vaggie. She's, um...”

“Not particularly fond of me?” Alastor supplied with a knowing smirk.

Charlie sighed softly, nodding. “Y-Yeah, you could say that. I'm sorry.”

“No need to apologize, doll. I can't blame her for being protective of you. I do have quite the reputation 'round these parts. Why, if you were my girl, I wouldn't want anyone taking up your time either,” Alastor professed, patting a bit of dust from his sleeve casually. “Vaggie's a lucky lady.”

Charlie did a double-take at his words. “I – If I was your – ?”

“Hypothetically speaking, my dear!” Alastor clarified with a chuckle, though his eyes never left Charlie's. When red began to tint her face, he couldn't help but get a delicious thrill. She was just too adorable to resist teasing a little. “I simply meant that I completely understand where Miss Vaggie is coming from. As your friend and business partner, I'd hate to cause you problems. Another time, perhaps!”

Before Charlie could fully recover, Alastor turned on his heel to leave. He grinned wickedly as he walked away from her, enjoying the conflicted state he'd left her in.

_1, 2, 3..._

“A-Al? Alastor?”

Alastor turned back to her, eyes innocent and curious. “Yes, dear?”  
  
“You said we were friends, right?” Charlie asked slowly, walking over to join him as he made his way down to the lobby.

“I did. Oh, golly!” Alastor gave a dramatic gasp, looking wounded. “My dear! Are you saying we're _not_ friends? Had I gotten my hopes up for nothing? Oh, the inhumanity!”

Charlie burst out in laughter, lightly punching his arm. “Of course we're friends! And that's what I'm saying: it's not weird for friends to go on picnics, right?” she asked with shy uncertainty, glancing around the lobby. While Vaggie had agreed to trust Charlie more regarding her relationship with Alastor, she didn't want to make her girlfriend uncomfortable either. And it'd be an issue if troublesome little rumors began cropping up because she hadn't been mindful...

Alastor was glad that Charlie had turned away so that she wouldn't catch the ecstatic grin on his face, all of his impressively sharp teeth on full display. He turned to spot Husk manning the bar and entertaining a few other demons. When the cat's golden eyes met his crimson ones, Alastor's smile was almost goofy as he pointed excitedly at the distracted girl beside him. Husk grinned as well and gave him two thumbs up in approval.

“It's not weird at all, Charlie! We'll have a grand old time,” Alastor said encouragingly, instantly composing himself when Charlie turned to him again. He moved his hand in a smooth flourish and conjured up a nicely sized picnic basket, blanket, and umbrella. “I even prepared some corn muffins I've been dying to have you try,” he added, offering his free arm to the lovely demoness.

Charlie couldn't fight back an excited smile of her own as she took his arm. “That's not fair! You know I'm weak for your cooking.”

_All's fair in love and war_, Alastor thought with a chuckle.

But as soon as he'd opened the doors leading outside the hotel, the skies instantly darkened and unleashed a heavy downpour that instantly soaked everything unlucky enough to be exposed to it. For some of the smaller imps, the pressure of it was so strong that they could barely keep themselves upright as they joined others in scrambling for shelter. The rumble of thunder and the sharp flash of lightning pierced the air like a knife, as if to emphasize the death of the previously sunny day.

Alastor and Charlie stood there in complete shock for a few moments before they were forced aside by a few Hazbin residents rushing inside and tracking large amounts of mud and water in their wake.

“**Argh!** Wipe your feet! What, were you all raised in a barn?!” Niffty's screeches immediately followed, clutching a mop and bucket as she zipped around to clean up the mess. She easily picked up and threw two demons who made the mistake of being in the way of her cleaning frenzy. “We're running a hotel here, not some... dirty... place! I'm so mad, I can't even think straight!”

“A landfill?” Husk suggested, raising an amused eyebrow as he drank from his usual bottle of booze.

“Exactly! Thank you!”

“Don't mention it.”

Frighteningly silent, Alastor's head had tilted unnaturally to the side, his eyes blank as he continued to stare out at the absurdly powerful downpour outside. His mind was racing, trying in vain to grasp how his perfect plans had turned to ruins. Did Vaggie catch them trying to leave and possess some unforeseen control over the weather? Had Lucifer been keeping tabs on Charlie after all, and was trying to put a hard stop to it? Were they in some weird cartoon that profited off of seeing him flounder, all for the sake of some sick audience's entertainment? Was it all of the above?

The rapidly deflating Radio Demon honestly couldn't tell at this point, nor did it likely matter. All Alastor knew was that he had the sudden urge to brutally maim someone. His clawed hands, now glowing with visibly bloodlust, were inching their way towards the throat of some random frog-like demon nearby, leaving the poor guy cowering as Alastor towered over him.

“Aw, that's such bad luck! Crazy Hell weather, huh?” Charlie said with a befuddled shake of her head. She looked up at Alastor with apologetic eyes; he immediately hid his hands behind his back and looked at her with a softer smile, the his intended victim wisely running away. “I really wanted to go out with you today, but I think we're forced to take a rain-check on this one. But hey! Maybe we can go over some of those plans inside?”

Alastor's head returned to its upright position and he closed the double doors with a defeated sigh. “Yes, that sounds good. We can make do inside and go out another day. Let's find ourselves a table.”

With that, the dejected duo took their hefty paperwork over to a free table in the corner of the lobby, rolled up their sleeves, and got down to work. They poured over the many documents and discussed new plans to implement: from potential sponsors, new clients, advertising, and even a few secret partnerships. Charlie was overjoyed at the hotel's progress, trusting Alastor's guidance and suggestions when he briefed her on the most important demon overlords who could make or break the hotel depending on how they were dealt with. As much as he'd rather be spending this time cozied up with Charlie on a nice little hilltop, Alastor was still thankful for the opportunity to spend more time with her. And the food he'd prepared hadn't gone to waste: they enjoyed their fill as they worked through the small stacks. Charlie gushed over the corn muffins in particular, much to his delight.

“I knew you'd love them,” Alastor said with a grin, setting down his venison sandwich.

Charlie giggled as she finished one off, gently wiping the crumbs from her cheeks. “And you were right! I need to stop, though. At this rate I'll be as big as the hotel,” she laughed, though couldn't resist reaching for another. “Just one more – promise!”

“And you'd still be as beautiful as ever, even as we're all forced to roll you around from place to place!” Alastor said sweetly, causing them both to laugh heartily.

A chilled bottle of Moscato wine lightly hit the table, drawing their attention. Husk smoothly set two glasses down with his claws, tail swishing. He exchanged a quick glance with Alastor before smirking.

“Hey. I saw you two busy at work over here with all this dusty paperwork and thought you'd like a drink,” Husk said with a casual shrug. He folded his arms and looked around the lobby, noticing a few other bored demons lounging on the couches and staring listlessly through the rain-battered windows. “Not like there's anything more to do but get a little hammered.”

“Thank you, Husk!” Alastor said, genuinely grateful for the bottle. “How kind of you.”

“Yes, thank you! We appreciate it!” Charlie agreed, beaming up at the anthropomorphic feline.

“Not a problem,” Husk said with a wave as he moved to return to the bar. He looked over his shoulder, sporting a devilish grin. “You two crazy kids have fun! Don't get _too_ cozy, though.”

Alastor rolled his eyes as he felt his cheeks burn as Charlie giggled. Of _course_ there had to be a jab at his expense thrown in, why would he expect anything different?

Keen to change the subject, Alastor uncorked the bottle and began pouring the cold contents into one of the glasses. “Ahaha, that Husker! What a joker, once you get to know him. Are you much of a drinker, dear? I don't recall you ever indulging in any since I've moved in here.”

“I do, but not much,” Charlie admitted, fingering the smooth surface of the glass in front of her. “I thought I'd set a good example by staying clean of... well, everything. I don't want to be a hypocrite, telling people to do better and not holding myself to the same standard.”

Alastor chuckled at Charlie's innocence, but he couldn't help but also be impressed with her maturity. She was so pure, it was almost unreal to him – like a dream. “Sweetheart, having a little drink to unwind every now and then could hardly be considered a sin. You work the hardest out of everyone here! Take a moment to relax.”

Charlie hesitated; Vaggie had been against the installation of a bar, and she surely wouldn't like it if she started partook. But the residents seemed to respond well to the access of a little alcohol, and she couldn't deny she envied how everyone seemed to relax after a few glasses – especially after a particularly draining day of work. And it _had_ been a long time since she'd had one herself. Was there really any harm in it?

“Y'know, I think a drink would be nice,” Charlie relented, holding up her glass. “Thanks, Al.”

Alastor's eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as his grin widened, a brilliant idea striking him. This was a golden opportunity: if he got Charlie drunk enough, he could get some invaluable information out of her. Why, she'd be an open book to him!

His heart began to pound at the delicious possibilities, as if he was laying a snare. What secrets did the Princess of Hell have, and how could he use that to his advantage? It was all so very, _achingly_ tempting to take advantage of the trust he'd carefully built and sink his teeth firmly into his sweet prey.

But something tugged Alastor away from the temptation. Instead, he poured Charlie a fair amount, enough to where – provided she wasn't a _total_ lightweight – would only serve to relax her nicely. She thanked him and they clinked their glasses together in a toast before taking a sip. Alastor watched her enjoy herself, curious about what it was about this darling little belle that made him pull back from his worst instincts. He could trap her so very easily, and yet, that approach didn't quite sit well with him anymore.

_You're quite the mystery, Ms. Charlie Magne_, Alastor thought with a wry smile. _I need to be careful around you, or I'll go as soft as a marshmallow one of these days._

And so they sat in comfortable silence, sipping on the soothing beverage as they carefully read through some financial documents. The calming sound of the raindrops, in combination with the softly dimmed lights, was beginning to put Alastor in a peculiar mood – one of longing. He found himself glancing over the rim of his glass more often, taking in the softness of the woman beside him. Charlie was focused on the paper in front of her, her eyes slightly narrowed as she concentrated. The lights cast an alluring shimmer in the dark pools of her eyes, sparkling like starlight within them. She sported the cutest little pout, her almost puppy-like muzzle making Alastor grin wider as he recalled her tendency to even whine like one at times. Finally, his eyes examined the beautiful flow of her long hair, it always reminding him of a perfect summer's day...

_What the hell!_ Alastor reeled back, startled by his own sentimental thoughts. _I sound as sappy as that silly novel! I'm going to have to burn that thing, it's infecting me with its mushy nonsense._

It was all getting too much for Alastor to bare, just sitting there looking like some lovesick fool. That irksome warmth hit him hard in the chest again and his ears wiggled wildly in response. More roughly than he'd intended to, he set down his glass and shot to his feet, startling Charlie out of her reading. His staff materialized and he shrunk it down into a more traditional radio form before gently placing it on the table in front of them. He lightly tapped on the top, soft static emanating from it as it searched through for a “channel”. Before long, a jazzy little number began to play, the sleepy atmosphere of the lobby flared back to life as the lights brightened to match. Those gathered livened up as well, a mix of confusion and curiosity in their voices as they wondered what was going on.

Alastor held out a hand to his partner, giving her a winning smile. “Charlie, dearest, would you care to dance? It's been far too long since you've done me the honor!”

Charlie glanced around at the onlookers, but to his relief, she didn't hesitate in taking his hand and standing up with a grin. “Why, don't mind if I do!”

Alastor's heart throbbed and his body tingled as Charlie eagerly moved in close and allowed him to tenderly take her into his arms. He took the lead in their dance, taking special care in resting his hand on a respectable spot on her hip. He admired how she flawlessly moved in time with his movements, her hand feeling natural in his as they happily danced together. When she looked up at him with that captivating smile and those bright eyes, Alastor felt as if the rest of Hell had melted away to allow for this special moment with her. Never before had he encountered someone so perfectly in sync with him, and Alastor dared to believe she felt the same way: Charlie giggled in delight as they moved to the beat, never missing a step as they moved in time with the fast-paced music. His usual grin once again softened into one of pure admiration for the woman in his arms.

For once, the Radio Demon didn't care about how this may have looked to all those watching them. Lucky for the him, however, the other demons had succumbed to the upbeat music and infectious energy of the dancing duo; they were beginning to dance as well, transforming the lobby into a dance floor. Even Husk was left tapping his foot and swishing his tail to the rhythm.

“Got a regular Romeo over here,” Husk muttered with a snicker as he watched Alastor and Charlie practically make goo-goo eyes at each other. “They might hook up sooner than I though. Gotta start looking into what I want as payment,” he mused, rubbing his paws together in gleeful anticipation.

It was then that Alasor, lost in the music and dance, began to sing in time with the instrumentals.

_The ballrooms packed with cocky girls_

_Satin frocks and shining pearls_

_Click my fingers, ladies swoon_

_The hottest dancer in the room_

_I'm a bad boy – I need to dance_

_If you don't dance, no romance_

_Feel like dancing, dance with me_

_First dance is always free_

_I'm a bad boy – I need to dance_

_If you don't dance, no romance_

_Feel like dancing, dance with me_

_First dance is always free_

Charlie marveled at Alastor's smooth voice, the radio static having disappeared as he seemed to sing just for her. Her smiled became more dazzling as she watched him, unable to stop herself from staring at her skilled dance partner.

_Bebop sliding down my back_

_Never alone when I hit the sack_

_Swing's a thing with a ringa-ding-ding_

_And I get wings when I sing_

_Ragtime, reason and rhyme_

_I'm the reason you're divine_

_Rhuma, mambo, latin, samba_

_The ladies in the house saying_

_Caramba~!_

Alastor's grin grew as Charlie began to sing with him, her melodious voice sending shots of pure ecstasy through his veins. They held hands as they continued to own the spotlight in the room, their eyes never leaving each others as the choreographed in perfect harmony.

_I'm a bad boy – I need to dance_

_If you don't dance, no romance_

_Feel like dancing, dance with me_

_First dance is always free_

_I'm a bad boy – I need to dance_

_If you don't dance, no romance_

_Feel like dancing, dance with me_

_First dance is always free..._

During the final smooth lines of the song, Alastor and Charlie eased into an impressive finish, nearly touching noses as they basked in the moment and drew a somewhat embarrassing amount of cheers and applause. This finally seemed to snap him out of it, causing Alastor to loosen his hold on Charlie and give her space. He failed to notice Charlie continuing to look up at him in amazement while holding his hands.

Alastor cleared his throat softly, lest his voice crack as he speak. “Sorry about all the fanfare, Charlie. I – ”

“**Hey!** Hands off of her, Alastor! Dammit, Charlie, be careful!”

Before he could react, Alastor nearly had the wind knocked out of him as he was shoved roughly in the stomach. He nearly toppled off his feet as he struggled to maintain his balance, arms flailing slightly. He soon recovered and shot an enraged glare at whoever had dared to separate them, much less **touch** him. His claws radiated with malice as they itched to tear apart none other than –

“Vaggie! Calm down!” Charlie pleaded, clutching her girlfriend's shoulders in a desperate attempt to stop her from launching herself at Alastor. Vaggie was glaring at him, naked and pure distrust in her eyes. “We were just dancing!”

“Just dancing? **Just dancing?**” Vaggie sputtered, almost take off-guard by the claim. “You guys were – do you know how close you were to – ?”

Alastor brushed off the front of his suit where the moth had touched him, disgusted. He'd been a bit careless, he realized, as he spotted the sheepish forms of Razzle and Dazzle not too far away.

“Nothing happened!” Charlie insisted, beginning to blush as the everyone in the lobby began to stare and mumble amongst themselves. “Honestly, Vaggie, you're getting the wrong idea. We were inside all day getting through paperwork for the hotel. Al had put on some music to relax everyone and we danced a little. That's all! It was actually very sweet of him,” she added with some pride.

Vaggie gritted her teeth. _There she goes defending him again. This is why I've had to take matters into my own hands._

“I – Charlie, we need to talk,” she said with a frustrated sigh, taking her hand. She shot a warning glare at Alastor. “Alone.”

“O-Okay?” Charlie responded nervously, dreading the upcoming conversation already. As Vaggie began to pull her towards the stairs, she turned to give Alastor an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Do you think you can handle the rest of the work from here?”

“Of course, Charlie! I'll have it all squared away by dinnertime, not to worry,” Alastor assured her, waving them off. “Anything I need to consult you one, we can always discuss later.”

Charlie sighed, grateful. “Thanks. Okay, Vaggie, I'm coming, I'm coming...!”

As soon as the girls were out of sight, Alastor's pleasant smile turned into a deadly snarl, the edges of his mouth barely staying curved upward. His eyes were bright and ablaze with fury, his rows of sharp teeth on full display. Dials briefly flashed in his eyes as he stood with his back to everyone else, fuming for several seconds before seamlessly returning to his normal relaxed stance.

Patience. He had to exercise patience.

Alastor breathed out slowly as he returned to his table. The demons around him had returned to dancing; he'd decided to be kind and let the music keep playing. Besides, he needed to relax again after what just happened. He picked up a sizable stack of papers and leaned back in his chair.

“Hey.”

Alastor glanced up to see Husk with a mug of beer in his claws. He pointed to the now vacant seat across from him. Alastor nodded and the cat demon sank into it.

“Sorry for not catching Vaggie coming in time to warm you,” Husk grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “That broad's kinda quick.”

Alastor chuckled. “Indeed she is! Infuriatingly so,” he growled with a roll of his eyes. “But it's not your fault. I appreciate you trying to help. If anything, it was my fault. You said not to get too cozy, yet that's exactly what I did.”

Husk took a few gulps of his beer, but Alastor could see the corners of his muzzle twitch in an effort to stifle a smile. He began to get a bit nervous; it was like knew something he didn't.

“So... did I do anything too... sappy?” Alastor asked, and he hated how small he sounded. Like a kid asking his Dad about something he may have done wrong. He forced his insecurity down. “I mean – I wasn't inappropriate, was I?”

“Nah, I thought you were fine. Real gentleman-like,” Husk responded with a nod.

“Oh, good – ”

“For the most part.”

Alastor winced. “Oh dear. You don't say.”

Husk laughed. “I gotta admit, you were _this_ close to locking lips with our little majesty,” he said, holding two of his claws barely an inch from each other for visible comparison. Alastor felt himself slink down in his seat in shame. “Be straight with me: were you about to kiss Charlie?” Husk pressed, curious.

“No! Heavens, no!” Alastor immediately denied, but even he began to wonder at this point. “I wouldn't do that without her say-so. I think I just got too caught up in the music, is all.”

Husk tilted his head, his expression perfectly displaying his doubt.

“Fine, I got caught up in her too. Mostly her!” Alastor hurriedly confessed, folding his arms. “Don't rub it in.”

“No promises,” Husk snickered.

“Vaggie is using Razzle and Dazzle to keep tabs on me,” Alastor revealed to him, drumming his fingers against his arm.

“Those little goat guys? They don't stand a chance against you,” Husk scoffed, pouring himself some of the leftover Moscato. “Big deal, right?”

“You are correct! But I don't want to hurt them. They're Charlie's beloved companions, and it wouldn't do handle them my usual way. Besides, they're simply following orders,” Alastor reasoned, and Husk was a bit surprised at the small show of mercy. “I knew they were put on alert before today, but I didn't think they'd be watching me so often. That's my mistake.”

“When you put it that way, I can see that being a pain in the ass, yeah,” Husk admitted with a nod. “Any idea of how to get around that?”

Alastor hummed as he considered his options, leaning forward to rest his chin on his linked fingers. “I have a few options, I think. I admit, I'm in a bit of a pickle: I can't just use my shadow puppets to impede or temporarily capture them, that'd be a dead giveaway.”

“Hm. Well, if there's anything I can do to he – _shiiitttt_,” Husk's face fell at the sight of Alastor's head snapping around and giving him a wide, mischievous grin. “Wait, I changed my mind – ”

“Why, thank you, Husker! I think I _will_ cash in another of the many favors you owe me,” Alastor said with a boisterous laugh as he threw an arm around the now face-palming cat. “I do appreciate your help, my furry friend. It's such a relief knowing I have you as back-up!”

“Me and my big fucking mouth,” Husk grumbled, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“Not to worry! I won't request anything too demanding,” Alastor reassured him, patting the top of Husk's head like the good little accomplice he was. “”No, this will be all too easy for a man with your unique skills and expertise. Now, let's go over the details...”


	5. Keeping It Professional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, my fingers are BURNING from all this typing! Please send help.
> 
> I'm so stupidly happy I managed to keep my promise of two chapters this week! Thank you all for your support, in any way you've given it. From comments, kudos, bookmarks, and hits, I'm just so overwhelmed by you all in the best possible way.
> 
> When I'm not drawing a bunch of Charlastor, you can be sure I'm working hard on this story. I love this ship so much and I'm glad others do too. I still have quite a ways to go, but we're chugging right along! :D
> 
> From now on, I think I will slow it to weekly updates, at your urging. Pacing is important, and I want this to be the best it can be.

Charlie bit her lip uneasily ass she let Vaggie pull her upstairs and out of sight of everyone in the lobby. She nearly tripped from the pace she was forced into, but she didn't dare ask her to slow down. She could practically see the steam emanating from her furious girlfriend, and knew it wasn't wise to risk the situation escalating into a full-blown meltdown.

The demon princess's mind raced as she prepared herself for “a talk”. Had her dance with Alastor really been so passionate? Had she gotten so caught up in the music, his energy, their chemistry, those eyes, that smile, that voice –

Charlie shook her head frantically, alarmed at her own thoughts. _No! It was just dancing with a friend! It was innocent! Oh boy, now they've got me second-guessing it now!_

Vaggie stopped at her bedroom door and roughly pushed it open, yanking Charlie inside after her. She yelped a bit, rubbing the slight impression left on her wrist where she'd been gripped. Almost like a child about to be scolded, she walked over to soft pink plush bed in the center of the room and sat down at the foot of it.

Vaggie sighed deeply as she took in the remorseful look on her beloved's face. She felt her rage rapidly dwindle; try as she might, she couldn't stay mad at her for very long. “Charlie, I'm not angry.”

Charlie gave her a weak smile, clearly not believing her. “It, uh, sure doesn't look like it. But it's okay if you're mad at me! I just...” she looked down at her fidgeting hands, studying the black sheen of her fingernails. “I know it sounds awful, but I'm not sure what I did wrong...?”

The moth demon crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. “So you really don't think anything was suspect about what happened back there? Nothing at all?”

Charlie gulped, trying her best to recall her dance with Alastor as objectively as possible. It was all such a dreamlike daze to her; all she could recall was his charming smile and his beautiful singing, how her heart soared as they danced the evening away. She barely noticed anything else outside of that moment, like she was under his spell.

Okay, sure, he'd gotten a _bit_ close near the end. But that was just how Alastor was, right? With a soft blush, she reminded herself that this wasn't the first time he'd been... handsy. Heck, their first meeting had him grab her arm and pull her in to touch noses with him. And then there was him whisking her away into their first dance, his lips barely an inch from hers. And this time, he was even closer...

Oh. **Oh**_._

_Okay, maybe he __had__ gotten a bit close. But that doesn't mean we were doing anything weird!_ Charlie reasoned somewhat desperately.

“Hun?” Vaggie called, slightly concerned at the blonde's odd behavior.

“Huh? Oh, sorry!” Charlie exhaled softly and straightened up. She forced herself to focus; this was no time to get distracted. “Okay, you have a point. I think we both got a bit caught up in that dance, so much so that it looked pretty suspect,” she admitted reluctantly. “But, Vaggie, I promise that it wasn't anything like what you think. You know I'd never do something like that to you.”

“I-I know,” Vaggie responded, softening. “Sweetie, I know you're not that type of person. But Alastor – he looked like he was trying to move in on you.”

“Alastor? The Radio Demon? Interested in **me**?” Charlie laughed, waving her hand at the frankly ridiculous idea. “No way! I doubt I'm even on his radar in general half the time. I know I'm not his type – well, if he's got one in the first place.”

Vaggie shook her head at the girl's obliviousness. This effectively killed off Charlie's laughter. “Charlie, I'm serious. You really think Alastor doesn't have a thing for you? Do you really think that?”

Charlie's eyes widened. “Babe, I know he doesn't. He's just really friendly, that's all. We just click really well. Nothing's going on, I swear.”

Vaggie combed her fingers through her long silver hair, trying to figure out how to approach this. When Razzle and Dazzle had materialized in her bedroom to alert her, she had bolted out of the room immediately. Even in that moment, she'd been convinced Alastor had put his evil scheme in motion, and that Charlie was in dire need of help. Her spear was at the ready, prepared for one hell of a fight against the Radio Demon.

But what Vaggie wasn't prepared for was seeing Alastor mere inches away from her Charlie's face, both of them lost in each others eyes and her girlfriend making no move to stop him. Granted, she couldn't be absolutely sure that he was trying to kiss her; this wasn't the first time he'd gotten uncomfortably close to Charlie. But Alastor's invasion of personal space wasn't done out of some general fascination, or to unnerve someone for sick kicks. No, the electricity between them was unmistakable. Had Vaggie not seen it first-hand, she'd never have believed that the Radio Demon could look at anyone with so much convincing, tender adoration.

Worse yet, Vaggie wasn't so sure it was all just a manipulation tactic anymore. And that was much more terrifying.

“Charlie, I'm going to be real with you: I want you to put some space between you and Alastor. Set some boundaries.”

“B-Boundaries? But – ”

“Don't fight me on this!” Vaggie pressed, walking forward and placing her hands on Charlie's shoulders, gripping them lightly. She looked straight into her lover's large eyes, her voice stern. “I don't like how he looks at you, how he acts around you. I need you to take my feelings seriously and keep him at arm's length. The more distance, the better.”

Charlie looked back at her in astonishment before creasing her eyebrows. “Vaggie, that's not fair. Al's been nothing but nice to me, and has helped the hotel in ways I could only dream of. He's my business partner!”

“Exactly! Your business partner and nothing more,” Vaggie countered sharply. “Business partners don't act that way! You're not friends, you're co-workers. Start treating him like one.”

“But he **is** my friend!” Chalie shot back, clutching her fists. When she saw Vaggie flinch slightly and let go of her, she immediately regretted it. “I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that.”

Vaggie looked down at her in surprise, hands on her hips. “Since when is he your friend, Charlie? We've known him for only a few months. Are you really that naive to think he's helping you out of the kindness of his heart? Well guess what? He doesn't have one! He's made it clear from the moment he walked his smug ass into our hotel that he's just waiting to see you crash and burn! That's all he ever leaves in his wake! That's all he cares about.”  
  
“I know what he's done in the past, but – ”

“You say they, yet you're letting him charm you into thinking he's someone to be trusted! He's not your friend, Charlie!” Vaggie couldn't help but cut her off, blood boiling at Charlie's insistence on trying to see the good in everyone. Sure, it could be endearing to a point, but it stopped being cute as soon as she let that snake in. “How can you be so stupid – so naive – to think he's anything but a monster!”

Charlie felt like she'd just been slapped across the face. Vaggie realized all too late what she'd just let slip out. She tried to gently take Charlie's hands in her own and apologize, but the princess moved away from her, her eyes flashing red as her own anger began to bubble to the surface. The moth recoiled slightly; it'd been a very long time since she'd experienced her wrath.

“Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to protect you. You know that, don't you?” Vaggie appealed desperately.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. That's what everyone keeps saying,” she replied bitterly. She began to move her hands about flippantly. “'Oh, don't cry or get upset when I call your dreams stupid and insult you to your face, princess! Daddy just wants to protect you from making a fool of yourself and dragging down the Magne family name! You'll understand when you get to my position one day!'” Charlie sneered, recalling her father's harsh words. “All that 'tough love' bullshit I'm apparently supposed to appreciate, as if belittling me and telling me there's no use trying to save my people is somehow good parenting.”

Vaggie winced. “That was wrong. But, Charlie – ”

“And who can forget Mom? She _says_ she understands where I'm coming from and supports me, but she refuses to call me back, even though I must have left her a hundred messages by now!” Charlie's voice cracked softly and she angrily swiped away at a small tear that threatened to fall. “It's all lip service with her. She thinks she's helping me by being 'neutral', but all she's doing is being a coward. At least Dad had the balls to be upfront with how he felt! Maybe she's secretly embarrassed by me too and won't just come out and say it!”

“Sweetie, I'm sure – ”

“And you say you're protecting me too. But you can't accept my decision to give Alastor a chance. I told you: I can't have this hotel work if I judge anyone for anything they've done in their lives. I can't hover over him like some warden, always expecting him whip out a knife and stab away at someone. If I did, I'd have to also start doubting Angel Dust every time he relapsed, or went running back to that pimp. If I did _that_, I'd have to wonder about you – you doing – ”

Vaggie gasped. Charlie's tirade ceased immediately and she deflated.

“No, I won't go there. Sorry,” Charlie sighed, looking back up at Vaggie. “I'm just – do you get where I'm coming from now? I'm fully aware of what I'm getting into. Hell, I'm not even saying that I have it all figured out. I _do_ appreciate you having my back and catching the things I might miss.”

Charlie stood up and walked over to Vaggie, hugging her tightly. Vaggie slowly returned the hug, sighing softly.

“Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm a little naive. I know you've seen how awful people can be, and I can't truly know what some of us are capable of,” Charlie confessed, rubbing her partner's back. “But, Vaggie, I need you to trust me more. I need to know at least one person believes I can do this.”

“I do,” Vaggie mumbled. “But... I still need you to pull back from him a bit. For my sanity. Please?”

Charlie sighed again, realizing that they were at an impass. “I... okay, Vaggie. If that's what you want. What you need. I can do that for you.”

Vaggie pulled back and looked into Charlie's eyes. “Do you mean it? You'll tell him to back off?”

Charlie winced at her phrasing. “I'll tell him we need to be more... more professional about things. Yeah. I promise.”

While not completely satisfied, Vaggie supposed she could agree to that for now. Truthfully, she'd be happiest if Charlie cut all ties with Alastor so things could go back to normal. But it was best to meet her halfway.

Charlie held up her hand, holding Vaggie's shoulder with the other. “On one condition: you learn to trust me on the times I have to work with him. You don't have to worry so much about me. I want you to know I've got this.”

A pang of guilt hit Vaggie's chest, but she ignored it. The hand hidden behind her back crossed her fingers. “I promise, hon.”

Smiling in relief, Charlie leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Thank you. That's all I ask.”

*~*~*~*~*

Later that night, Charlie and Vaggie walked downstairs to attend dinner. Charlie's stomach felt constricted in tight little knots as she dreaded having yet another difficult conversation. It was just her rotten luck that she'd have two “talks” in one day.

The delicious aroma of Alastor's cooking only made her discomfort worse, causing her to lightly hug her middle as all the anxiety started to cause her physical distress.

As they walked into the dining room, Charlie looked around for the deer demon. When she didn't find him, she headed over to the kitchen entrance and coyly peeked her head inside. Her breath caught a little when she spotted Alastor lightly buttering some garlic bread: his sleeves where rolled up to his elbows, showing off his lightly arms. His hair was tied up in the most adorable little ponytail, and he was humming cheerfully as jazz music played on his radio.

Before Charlie could fully prepare herself, Alastor turned to look at her. He gave her a bright smile that nearly made her heart break at what she was about to do.

“Sweetheart! There you are,” Alastor beamed, rinsing off his hands and drying them before walking over to her. “I was beginning to worry I wouldn't see hide or hair of you for the rest of the night! Is everything okay?”

“Yeah!” Charlie responded weakly, hands clasped behind her back. Her eyes focused on the kitchen tile below, unable to look him in the eye. “Actually, that's not exactly true.”

“Gracious. Did I get you in trouble?” Alastor asked, his voice softening as he looked at the nervous girl in front of him.

“No! No, you didn't do anything wrong,” Charlie insisted. “It's just... Vaggie and I talked things over. We're fine! But, um... I think I need to talk to you.”  
  
“Oh dear. That rarely means anything good, does it?” Alastor chuckled darkly, adjusting his monocle. Charlie's stomach fell.

“Tell me about it,” Charlie mumbled.

Alastor nodded his head. “But I understand. Let me just get dinner out to the table and we can have that chat, hm?”

Charlie silently stepped out of Alastor's way to allow him to do just that. She quickly walked over to the opposite corner of the kitchen and rested her back against the wall, nearly crumbling from her frazzled nerves. Her eyes closed and all she could see was the slightly wounded expression on Alastor's face. She honestly didn't want to do it: Charlie loved how well they got along and looked forward to hanging out with him every day. While she wouldn't admit it to anyone, she had grown very attached to the Radio Demon over the short time they'd known each other, and the thought of them being nothing more than stiff work partners made her heart ache.

“Come on, Charlie, you have to do this. Your relationship is in jeopardy if you don't keep your promise. Think of Vaggie! Do it for her!” Charlie muttered to herself, smacking her cheeks to steel herself and making them rosier than they already were. “Al will understand.”

But was this what she really wanted? Did Charlie, herself, have a problem with the way Alastor treated her...?

“All done.”

Charlie shot upright, smoothing out her shirt as Alastor returned to her. He pulled out his ponytail and shook his head a little to loosen his short hair, making Charlie gawk at the image. Had she seen a few sparkles?

Alastor gave her a polite, close-lipped smile as he stood in front of her expectantly. “Well, what would you like to talk about?”

“W-Well... Um...”

Charlie's mind went blank and she felt a suffocating lump form in her throat. His piercing gaze bore into her very soul and she tore her eyes away from him with some difficulty, focusing on everything but the man in front of her. To her chagrin, her hands took on a mind of their own as they lightly gripped bundles of hair on either side of her face and curtained them around her, as if she were trying to disappear. It didn't help matters when Alastor couldn't resist laughing at her cutely odd behavior.

_Oh my gosh, Charlie, get it together! Channel that princess energy and just get it over with! It's like ripping off a band-aid!_

Clearing her throat, Charlie puffed out her chest and tilted her head up to look at Alastor. She prayed that it was a convincing show of confidence, though the way his lips quirked, she doubted it was.

“A-Alastor!”

“Yes, my dear?”

Dammit, she stuttered. And why did he have to call her that? Ugh!

“I think that, tonight, we got a little too c-close!” Charlie stated, her voice wavering again. She forced herself to keep going. “A-And Vaggie made a good point that the way we are around each other – how we are now – can come off a bit...” she struggled to come up with the words, Alastor only looking back at her evenly. “Well, it could give people the wrong idea about what kind of relationship we have! Y-Yeah, that's it. We're business partners, nothing more.”

Alastor's eyes widened and Charlie gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. _Oh God! That came out so __**way**__ worse than I meant it to!_

“O-Oh. Al, I didn't mean it like that. I just...” Charlie crumbled, feeling her eyes begin to glisten. “I'm sorry, I was just trying to say – ”

“No, no. I understand perfectly,” Alastor said lightly, nodding his head. “And you're right, de – Charlie.”

Her heart sank and her blood ran cold at the formality. Such a simple change was like going through withdrawal.

“I can admit that I may have unintentionally blurred the lines of our relationship,” Alastor continued, rubbing his chin in thought. “Miss Vaggie is right: we barely know each other, and I should have respected your space more. I am here to help you run the Hazbin Hotel, and it's not proper for us to forget that. Duly noted.”

Before Charlie could think of a response, Alastor turned, removed his apron, and placed it on a small hook as he made his way towards the door. He turned back to her, his expression pleasant.

“Come along, Charlie! I made a nice stew to counter this cold weather.”

“Y-Yeah. Thanks...” Charlie said numbly, rushing past him.

Once in the dining room, Charlie practically plummeted into her usual seat beside Vaggie. Her whole body felt drained, lifeless. Like someone had punched her squarely in the stomach and left her insides in complete disarrangement. She numbly poured a healthy helping of the warm, savory stew into her bowl, staring down at the swirling mixture. It smelled and looked heavenly, but her appetite was shot.

“Charlie? You okay?”

Charlie jumped and looked up at Vaggie; the moth looked back with soft concern. The princess forced a reassuring smile; she wouldn't dare make Vaggie regret giving her such a simple request.

It was worth it – right?

“Yeah! I'm okay! Guess I'm just a bit hungrier than I thought,” Charlie lied, wincing slightly. She turned her body so that she more easily faced Vaggie. “I had that talk with Al. He was fine with it.”

For what felt like the first time in ages, Vaggie gave her a genuine, radiant smile. Charlie's own smile tugged further, relieved to see she'd fixed things.

“Thank you, _mi amor!_” Vaggie bubbled, happily cupping Charlie's cheeks and giving her a kiss. “That's all I wanted. I know it wasn't easy, but I really do appreciate what you did.”

“No problem, Vaggie. Anything for you,” Charlie replied with a giggle.

But her smile soon disappeared when Alastor walked into the room. The two girls watched him intently as he walked around the table, his usual seat beside Charlie left open. No one would dare think to take the seat, lest they get flung into a wall and suffer broken limbs. But to Vaggie and Charlie's shock – and Charlie's horror – Alastor instead opted for the seat on Husk's left, between him and Niffty. He went about helping himself to the food and soon eased into a lively conversation with his longtime friends. Like nothing at all had changed.

Charlie's heart pounded away again, each throb sending painful shocks through her body. She bit her tongue to stifle the hurt little whine of the rejection. Wait, rejection? This is what she should have expected, Al was just respecting her space...!

“Wow, I guess he really did listen,” Vaggie marveled. “I'm a little impressed with how mature he's being about it.”

“Yeah! Don't know what I was so worried about,” Charlie said softly, her eyes never leaving Alastor's laughing face. “Things can go back to normal now.”


	6. A Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last chapter hurt my heart and also everyone else's too. I'm sorrrryyyy. 8'D
> 
> I was super eager to get to this chapter too! Please enjoy, and thank you all for the feedback, as usual! It always serves to brighten my day. ♥️

Something had gone very, **very** wrong. Husk caught onto this almost instantly.

As usual, he'd been summoned to dinner by Razzle and Dazzle. On his way to the dining room, he caught sight of Charlie heading over to the kitchen to talk to Alastor, and reasoned that,despite the tense situation earlier, things would smooth itself out. Husk plopped himself down at his usual seat with a slightly drunken yawn, stomach beginning to grumble at the delicious smell of the stew Alastor had prepared. He'd just ladled himself a large bowl of the soup and was ready to chow down when he felt the familiar presence of the Radio Demon.

On his... left?

Husk paused, spoon inches away from his toothy maw. He slowly turned to look up at Alastor, who had already started a conversation with Niffty to his right. Husk turned to look to his right, wondering if he had accidentally sat down in Charlie's spot. But no: the seat beside Charlie stood blatantly vacant between them. He looked up at the princess, who had a similarly stunned look on her own face. Husk quickly averted his eyes, hoping she didn't catch him gawking like an idiot.

“Psst! Hey!” Husk tried to whisper discreetly, but his mind was in overdrive trying to make sense of what was happening. Alastor looked down at him curiously, even innocently. “What are you doin'? Why aren't you sitting next to Charlie?”

Alastor's red eyes flickered over to the empty chair. “Oh! Why, I just thought I'd sit between my two longtime friends and have a nice chat with the both of you! Nothing weird about that, is there?”

“And it really _has_ been a while since we've all sat next to each other! It's nice!” Niffty chimed in, smiling happily as she lightly clapped her tiny hands.

“Yeah, sure, but...” Husk rubbed the scruff of his neck, sneaking glances at Charlie. She had gotten over the initial shock of the sudden change, having turned away from them to talk to Vaggie and Angel Dust. “Did something happen?” he pressed, lowering his voice further as he leaned in towards Alastor.

Alastor chuckled lightly and waved a dismissive hand. “Nothing at all! You're reading way too deeply a simple seating arrangement change, my cat-like companion! Do lighten up, will you?” he laughed, sipping from his glass.

_Oh, __**bullshit**__!_ Husk thought, cutting his eyes at the taller demon. _What the hell could have happened between them over only a few minutes!?_

But Husk quickly realized he wouldn't get a direct answer out of Alastor during dinner – not with Charlie only two seats away from overhearing them. It was pure torture sitting between them, it was making his fur frizz up from all the tension in the air! It soon got to be too much for the cat demon and he was about to take the seat next to Charlie to get some answers, but some rando sat his ass down before he could do so.

This made the situation infinitely worse: Alastor's head snapped around and stared daggers at the frog-like demon, looking like he wanted to throttle him for daring to sit next to Charlie. Though he quickly masked his rage, Husk had seen and felt the bloodthirst radiating off of him and it lead to him nearly choking on his stew. As he washed down the food with a few gulps of beer, he caught Charlie failing miserably to hide her own glances at Alastor whenever Vaggie wasn't paying attention, hoping to catch his eye. But when Alastor refused to return the look, she'd jolt slightly, looking like a kicked puppy, before sheepishly spooning at her dinner again. When Husk whipped his head around to look at Alastor again, it looked like he hadn't even noticed.

It made Husk choke all over again, drawing a some attention from the other demons as he hacked and coughed over his bowl.

“Careful, Husker! I know my cooking is amazing, but no need to shovel it all down!” Alastor laughed, lightly patting his back.

_Why did he do that? Why is he ignoring Charlie? Did she piss him off somehow? Is she even capable of that, with how hopeless this bastard is?_

But just as Husk thought he had begun piecing everything together, Alastor turned to look over at Charlie. Husk hoped to God (if the big guy upstairs cared to pity a sinner like him) that the Radio Demon didn't notice him staring, because the absolutely heartbroken expression on his face was something he'd never forget. His trademark toothy smile remained in tact, but it was obvious it took everything in Alastor to not let it slip completely. His smile was weak and distressed, and his eyes showed a sorrowfulness and pained longing for the girl who'd returned to talking with her own longtime pals. His long pointed fingers were twitching slightly on the edges of the table; it looked as if, at any moment, he was liable to bolt up from his seat and violently reclaim his usual seat to speak with her.

But this resolve vanished the second Alastor realized Charlie was turning towards him again. He easily resumed his conversation with Niffty, leaving no evidence of what Husk had just witnessed.

Husk simply sat there, dumbstruck. His curiosity was eating him alive at this point, but he bit his tongue (wincing and tearing up at the pain) as he forced himself to act as normal as possible.

_Wait – oh no. __Oh __**no**__. __**Oh shit**__. Did he confess and get rejected...? _Husk's eyes widened at this horrific possibility. _Damn, that would make a lot of sense. Goddammit! Why didn't he run that by me first? Hoo boy, we gotta do damage control __**big time**__..._

“E-Excuse me. Al, could you pass the salt? Please?”

Husk jumped and looked up again, Charlie's soft and timid voice snapping him out of his thoughts. Charlie had leaned over a little, pointing at the salt shaker in front of Alastor's bowl. Husk's eyes shot back up to the deer demon, unable to resist the ridiculous level of suspense on his face as he anticipated his reaction. But Husk's mouth fell open in shock when Alastor seemed to freeze at Charlie's inquiry, his shoulders jerking slightly as his entire frame went rigid. Thankfully, he'd been turned towards Niffty so that neither Husk or Charlie could see his expression. But judging from Niffty's surprised reaction, Husk could only imagine what he looked like.

“Ah, Niffty, dear, I just remembered! Didn't you say you'd like some higher quality products to clean with? What were the names of them again? My apologies, I forgot them down earlier, ha ha!” Alastor continued casually, though his body language was anything but.

“Oh!” Niffty giggled, assuming that was the reason for Alastor's strange expression. “That's okay, you've been really busy! Well, I wanted Madame Mim's Miracle Solution, Witchy's Moonshine, and...”

Charlie's eyes widened and Husk swore he saw them begin to well up with tears. As if his body was on autopilot, his claws shot out to grab the salt. He held it out to her, almost smacking the poor guy between them in the face with his arm in his hurry.

“H-He probably didn't hear you – here you go!” Husk replied quickly, almost intelligible with his hasty attempt to diffuse the situation.

“Thanks, Husk!” the princess replied with a weak smile, accepting the seasoning from him.

“Yeah, no problem! Enjoy!”

Charlie settled back against her seat, fidgeting with her hair nervously and making no move to use the salt she'd asked for.Husk groaned and knew it was going to be one helluva night. By the looks of this situation, he'd definitely have to break out his best liquor: he already knew Alastor was going to lay a doozy on him. The two of them were going to have to work overtime to fix whatever roadblock the poor son of a bitch had in front of him now.

*~*~*~*~*

Now well after midnight, Husk had returned to his bar to serve the after-dinner crowd. He corked a bottle of scotch, watching as the last of his drunken customers stumbled towards the flights of stairs for much-needed sleep. One in particular was singing horribly as he stumbled around, slurring about some girl who Husk assumed had rejected him. It made him grumble, dreading the conversation he'd undoubtedly be having any second now.

“That b-bitch!” the teenage imp cursed, leaning over the banister and hiccuping. “Why are girls like that? Don't they know what a great catch guys like me are? She'll be sorry!”

Husk rolled his eyes, grumbling. “Sounds more like this chick was smart and ran for the hills...”

“Whuzzat?”

“Nothin',” Husk chuckled, shaking his head. “Get some sleep, Artie. And try not to throw up all over the place while you go. I don't think you'd want Niffty on your ass.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. G'night!” Artie called back, practically crawling up the stairs.

Husk hung back for an hour or so longer, quietly cleaning his work area with only the light ticking of the grandfather clock nearby to keep him company. The lights of the neon sign hanging above provided the only lighting, soft and mellow. When he was certain everyone else in the hotel had already drifted off to sleep, he began to get a little hopeful.

“Hey, maybe they patched things up without me,” Husk wondered, ears twitching. “So they had a small fight, big deal. Guess I got all worked up over nothin',” he laughed softly at himself, shaking his head as he reached up and pressed a button to turn off the remaining lights. “Now I feel stupid worrying over those kids.”

The furry demon picked up the two large bottles of wine he'd set out earlier before locking them securely in one of his compartments. After making sure everything was stored away properly, Husk stood up and stretched, feeling a few bones pop as his tail and wings fanned out fully. In almost total darkness, save for the soft filtering of the red moonlight through the windows, he turned to begin his shamble upstairs.

“**H̶̢̛̳͐̽̾Ų̷̭̮̪͋̓̓̈́͛S̷̮̪͈̘͚̍̅̈́̑͗Ǩ̶̡̰̦̖̖̱̳̰̜̇̏͛̈́̎͌̉̉͝͠ͅE̷͙͙̲̲̋̋̋̑̌͆́͠R̵͖̈̓̒!̶̗̭͙͍̞̖͙̹̩̜̮͎̞̽̐̃͘͜͝”**

Out of nowhere, glowing blood-red eyes and golden teeth cut through the darkness like a blade, hands loudly slamming down against the counter. The eyes were fixed on Husk, making his blood run cold as the being towered over him.

An ear-splitting, screechy scream spilled from Husk's throat as he shot upward towards the ceiling, adrenaline spiking through his veins like like lightning. His claws clung tightly to the chandelier above, his fur standing on end, his teeth clenched, his eyes wide and wild, his tail straight and frizzy. Husk's heart pounded severely against his rib cage as he trembled, his mind going completely blank from terror.

“Alastor? Is that you?” Husk managed to get out through his chattering teeth.

“Of course it's me! Who else?” Alastor called back irritably. He snapped his fingers and a few candles burst into life below him, fully revealing his lofty frame. “Get down here, I need to talk to you.”

“Christ! You scared the shit out of me, you creepy asshole!” Husk snapped back, his body slowly winding down from nearly having a heart attack. “Why can't you just walk up and talk to me like a normal person!”

“Oh, you're fine,” Alastor said dismissively, rolling his eyes as he began to restlessly pace in front of the bar. “I wanted to make sure we were alone first. A lot has happened tonight and I – I can't even think straight! Come down here,” he repeated, narrowing his eyes at Husk.

“If your dumb ass hasn't noticed, I'm hanging from a goddamn chandelier!” Husk snarled, letting go of his perch with one hand and waving it about in agitation. “Give me a second, will ya? And yeah, I could tell something went down, thanks. What happened between you two?”

Alastor laughed harshly. “Oh ho ho, where do I even start? Apparently, that bug-eyed Betty pulled Charlie away for a little chat about our dance last night.”

“Obviously,” Husk said, wiggling his legs as he looked around in a frantic attempt to find a good place to land. But everything looked capable of breaking his neck on it if he jumped. “Oh, fuck. Hey, did you confess to Charlie? Is that why the two of you were so awkward during dinner?”

“What? No!” Alastor blanched, crossing his arms. “I might be new to this silly love business, but even I know that's a bad idea at this point. As I was saying, Charlie pulled me aside shortly before dinner and – oh, would you just let go? Cats always land on their feet!” Alastor huffed irritably, tapping his foot impatiently as he watched Husk pathetically hang there. “It's not like you can die – you're already dead.”

“That doesn't mean I want to end up a broken bag of bones on the – ”

Suddenly, the curved piece of metal he'd been clinging to for dear life snapped, sending Husk plummeting down towards the flat, hard surface of the carpeted floor below. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the bone-splintering impact and the excruciating pain that'd come with it. But his fall was easily and gracefully broken by Alastor stretching out his arm and catching him, his clawed hand easily holding up the shaken cat.

The Radio Demon clicked his tongue before placing the trembling demon behind the bar. “Well, I guess I stand corrected on that whole 'cats always land on their feet' myth. Are you aware you've got a nice pair of handy wings, my friend?”

“**I AM NOT A FUCKING CA**\-- Oh, forget it. I don't have the energy to be pissed off anymore,” Husk sighed, stretching his eye bags a little as he ran his paws over his face – partly to hide his own embarrassment about forgetting he could fly. “I need a fucking drink.”  
  
“Make that a double, please,” Alastor huffed, settling down in one of the seats exhaustedly.

“You got it,” Husk snickered, opening up a seamless compartment on the floor behind the counter. It was his secret stash, something even Alastor didn't know about. But the antlered demon couldn't care less at the moment as he watched him pull out some nicely aged bottles of wine and hard liquor, impressively sliding two glasses onto the counter top with his tail. “You're more of a wine guy, right? Pretty sure I got your tastes pinned down by now.”  
  
“I am. But with the way I feel right now, I'll take anything you've got,” Alastor chuckled, fingering the neck of his wine glass as his eyes narrowed, static flickering inside them.

“Yeesh. That bad?” Husk asked with a twinge of pity. Alastor looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. “Yup, that bad. Gotcha. No problem, I'll whip us up something extra strong.”

“Thank you.”

Uncorking the large and expensive bottle of Zinfandel first, Husk poured the contents into both of their glasses, nearly to the rim. Alastor immediately lifted it, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth wide. He flaunted rows of shark-like teeth as he drank it all down in a single gulp. Husk couldn't help but be a little impressed.

“As I was saying,” Alastor continued, fixing his monocle. “Charlie approached me before dinner to tell me she and that interfering woman had a talk about us getting kind of close earlier. I anticipated as much – it was partly my fault, I admit. I knew she'd been using Charlie's pets to spy on us, but I got too careless.”

“So now Charlie's drawing a line, huh?” Husk mused, already pouring them both a second glass.

Alastor's eyes thinned dangerous, intense indignation bubbling up again. “And I _know_ that Vaggie put Charlie up to it. The only reason Charlie's setting any boundaries at all is because she's being pressured to. It's the only thing that meddling moth can do after what she saw tonight. As much as I despise her, she's no fool: she knows there's something between Charlie and I, and she's panicking,” he sneered, smirking. “Charlie would have never put up a wall otherwise. That, I am certain of.”

Husk recalled how broken Charlie had looked, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah, she looked pretty rough.”

Alastor's vicious smile wavered at this. For a moment, his mind cleared as he visualized the small and hurt form of Charlie as she tried to get his attention throughout dinner. His body craved to be at her side again, even now. But his pride ultimately won out; Alastor refused to go running back to anyone, no matter how tempting it may be. And when he saw how Vaggie relished in the aftermath, looking happier and livelier than he had seen in all his time knowing them?

No. He refused to give her the fucking satisfaction.

His blood boiled and the maniacal grin returned full-force. That little bitch had the gall to throw another wrench in his plans, and had succeeded this time. Alastor had tolerated Vaggie's obstruction long enough. If she wanted to play dirty, he was all too willing to meet her there. Why, he was downright delighted to throw all pretense of subtlety out the window if that's what she wished.

Vaggie was so paranoid of Alastor unleashing his depraved and merciless instincts on the few things she held dear, and it would bring the Radio Demon such lovely entertainment to show her just how right she was to be afraid...

It'd been such a long time since he'd broken out his trusty “tools”. Many years since he'd lured some poor soul into his web and ensnared them before they could even think to escape. Far, _far_ too long since he'd bound up a sobbing, pleading victim and showed off his shining, magnificent collection of knives as he hummed and danced around the darkened room, glowing red runes etched into the walls and floorboards from the lingering essence of previous hunts – his sacrifices.

Vaggie was a tough girl: even with no chance of escaping what he'd have in store for her, she'd refuse to show weakness or give him the satisfaction of begging. No, on the contrary: she'd spit in his face and curse his name, denying any fear of him and upholding that brave persona. And that suited Alastor just fine, for she was something special. He couldn't recall feeling this much hatred for another person in ages, and she had made it all the more personal. He'd take great pleasure in breaking every bone in her hand with a hammer, wondering when that facade of hers would shatter and she'd break down into tortured tears. Oh! Or maybe he'd finally try dissection – see what the little moth was made of. The art of torture was one of Alastor's many talents, and he looked forward to drawing it out for days on end – slowly, **painfully**, until her resolve broke down and she was screaming for mercy. And relish in the fact that none would come.

Alastor had always enjoyed plucking the wings off of little birds as a child, watching them squirm and chirp in pitiful agony as he held them in place. Would Vaggie be any different, as he drove the blades into each limp and plucked at the tendons underneath? As she bled out, he'd ask her if it had been worth it to get in his way. Or how she could ever delude herself into thinking she had any power in this game.

Husk's eyes widened as he took in Alastor's appearance, memories of their gorier collaborations returning full-force. He'd rarely seen that expression of utter hatred and intent to harm before, but he'd never forget it. Alastor's eyebrows were sharply pointed inward as he scowled, his grin nearly splitting his face. His eyes were swirling, no longer possessing the dials: in their place, a hypnotic display of reds pulsed in his eyes. His antlers were slowly branching outward, sharp and curved, like a dead tree's limbs. His claws grew longer and sharper, threatening to splinter and break the glass in his hands.

“Hey, you okay? You got that look in your eye. Looking kinda... murderous, there,” Husk mumbled nervously.

“Why, that's because I **am** feeling murderous!” Alastor laughed. It was a cruel and slightly deranged one, and the lack of static only made it all the more chilling. “It just occurred to me that the solution to my problem is ridiculously simple: I just have to murder the competition.”

Husk spit out his wine, coughing harshly. As he stood there trying to catch his breath, Alastor calmly stood up and summoned his staff, turning to make his way upstairs and towards his target. Husk launched himself over the counter and barely succeeded in grabbing Alastor's coattail, nearly topping over and onto the floor in his desperate attempt to stop the man from leaving. Alastor's head snapped around and glared down at the clawed hand tugging him back, before leveling a cold glare at Husk.

“Do keep in mind that the only reason I'm not snapping your hand off at the wrist is because I like you in some capacity,” Alastor drawled, tilting his head to the side. “But I wouldn't recommend pushing your luck, Husker. I'm afraid I've made up my mind.”

Husk refused to show fear. “Listen. I know you're pissed off. I don't blame you. But is this what you **really** want to do? Do you honestly think that you going upstairs and killing Vaggie is going to solve all your problems?” he asked.

For several terrifying seconds, Alastor only gazed back at Husk with those cruel, dead eyes. Husk feared that he'd snatch away and act on his violent impulses. But to his great relief, Alastor eventually sighed in resigned frustration.

“Fine. You're right. I'm being too hasty,” Alastor relented.

Reluctantly, slowly, Husk released his hold on the clothing and eased back into his own seat. Alastor soon followed, sitting back down as well. Alastor rubbed his temple as he leaned on the counter, cursing under his breath in what Husk could only assume was French. Alastor poured them both another round, nerves shot all over again. It was a good thing he was an experienced drinker, or else he'd have keeled over by now.

“As much as I'd love to sneak up there and make that little tramp disappear, I know that would only make things worse,” Alastor admitted, clenching his fists. He relaxed a little and gave a soft smile, chuckling. “I wouldn't be able to look into Charlie's tear-stained little face and hear her cry out in grievance over what little would be left of her lover. I'd truly lose her then.”

“That's right,” Husk said with a nod, sliding Alastor's refilled glass over. “You've gotta play the game smarter than that.”

“Yes, I know. You're right, of course. But...”

Husk raised a brow. “But?”

Alastor went silent again, peering down into the ripples of his drink. While the vast majority of his wrath was specially reserved for Vaggie, part of him resented Charlie as well. He knew that her delegating him as a business partner “and nothing more” was a mistake. Even now, Alastor could vividly recall the look of regret and remorse the moment she'd let those awful words slip out. Charlie had undoubtedly repeated what Vaggie desperately wanted their connection to be, rather than what she herself honestly thought of their relationship.

But Alastor couldn't wanting to retaliate against Charlie too, in some way. Had he been too nice in his dealings with her, to the point where she felt she could tell him what to do? Did she really think she had any power, any sway over him? He'd toppled demon overlords for fun! Surely some silly princess didn't have him wrapped around her finger.

Yet she did, Alastor realized with revulsion. Charlie meant a lot to him – too much, even. After all, here he was, giving her the space she had requested.

It began to dawn on Alastor that the feeling he felt most was heartbreak, and it alarmed him how easily Charlie had made him crumble. He'd braced himself for her putting _some_ distance between them after their close encounter: there was no way Vaggie would stand for that. He'd gotten a bit carried away and was willing to deal with those consequences – for the moment. But nothing could have prepared Alastor for Charlie relegating him to a simple co-worker. Those words had cut him down to the marrow, to his eternally damned soul. It had only been a few days ago when Charlie had happily called Alastor her friend, and his skipped at the memory even now. And now, he was just some benefactor helping her silly little hotel along.

But the implication that Alastor was just some benefactor helping Charlie's silly little hotel along was unbearable. Oh, he'd kept his composure in that moment; he had too much too much self-respect to allow any show of weakness. But it took all of his best acting to keep up the appearance of aloof acceptance. While he knew Charlie hadn't meant it and was desperate to correct her mistake, that irrational, silly, sentimentally _soft_ part of Alastor simply could not withstand the pain of her words. It brought on waves of disgusting vulnerability, making him question if he had mistook her general kindness for reciprocation.

Had it all been for nothing? Had Alastor humiliated himself by getting caught up a one-sided romance? Had it all been cruel wishful thinking?

The very idea of it gripped his heart like a vice, cutting his breath short. He realized Husk had been watching him silently, a curious mix of pity and concern etched on his furry face. Alastor gulped down his third glass, demanding another in an attempt to mask these shameful feelings.

During his sixth round of drinks, the alcohol had finally began to take hold of Alastor. Husk worried that the effects of them would bring out the Radio Demon's rage again full-force. But to his great amusement, it instead brought out a whole lot of emotional ranting and confessing. Having been a heavy drinker for several decades now, Husk's tolerance for the booze was high, and only receiving a relaxing buss after his ninth drink. He say back and continued to be a good bartender by refreshing Alastor's glass each time he slammed it down, snickering at the unexpected situation they currently found themselves in. It was a laugh riot, and he rather liked being the listening ear.

“I mean, why do we even have to fall in love in the first place? What is the fucking point!” Alastor rambled on, his already flushed cheeks reddening more as he thought of the perfectly sweet face of the woman who had turned him into such a confused mess. “Is this my true punishment in Hell? To love Charlies so much, yet she doesn't have a clue? Seriously, why do I have go through this love nonsense? All it does is bring me pain and confuse the living daylights out of me!”

“Yeah, that's women for ya,” Husk grinned, nodding his head. “Well, love in general, really. It can put you through the wringer.”

“You said it!” Alastor said loudly, waving his glass in the air and nearly spilling the contents all over the place. “You know what? I miss the good ol' days. The days where absolutely no one mattered to me. It was all so simple back then: go around killing other humans or sinners for my own entertainment,” he grumbled, tossing back another.

“And roping me into your crazy turf wars,” Husk groused with a roll of his eyes.

“Right, exactly! Such fun!” Alastor laughed. Husk crossed his arms, grumbling. “And now... now I'm in love. Madly so. With a bright-eyed little princess who's already taken by someone who doesn't deserve to be at her side. And who might not even consider me a friend.”

Husk did a double-take at his words. Alastor's eyes had eased into a pained, despondent glow and his smile barely remained upturned. While no tears could be seen, Husk wouldn't have been too surprised if they began to fall at this point.

“Hey, hey! Don't say that,” Husk said quickly, awkwardly patting Alastor's shoulder. Never, not in a thousand years, did he think he'd be sitting there comforting **him** of all people. But he couldn't just sit there and watch this sad show, either. “We both know Charlie likes you. I was watching you two knuckleheads earlier: she definitely wants to make things right. She looked as pitiful as you do right now,” Husk said with a small laugh.

Alastor smiled more at this. “That so? I'd love her to, but...”

Suddenly, Alastor's head fell and slammed loudly onto the counter top, making Husk jump in surprise. His ears twitched and wiggled slightly as he mumbled something incomprehensible into the smooth surface.

“Woah! Hey! You good?” Husk asked in slight alarm. “Hey! There's no way I'm dragging your sorry, heavy ass up those stairs!”

Alastor gave forth a small groan. “Charrliiiieeeee. Whyyyyyy? Why do you do this to me, sweetheart!”

Husk turned away sharply, covering his mouth with a hand to stop the laugh from spilling out. It was too much, seeing Alastor so emotionally, hilariously drunk. He never would have figured him for the type, and it was priceless. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the poor sap. After getting his snickering out, Husk turned back to Alastor, patting his head like he was comforting a kid.

“Hey, cheer up. It's not over yet,” Husk said encouragingly. Alastor slowly moved his head, looking up at him drearily. “You know, I actually had a girl who was already taken too. In fact, I was this close to popping the question. I know how you feel right now: it's tough, but it's not impossible to get things to go your way. It just takes a bit of extra work, is all.”

Alastor's ears twitched in interest. “Really? How did things go with you two?”

Husk coughed, crossing his arms. “Ah, well – that's a story for another day. My point being, you shouldn't give up so easily. There's bound to be a bunch of roadblocks, but we just have to get creative with our approach. On your own, you're hopeless. But with _me_ in your corner, you stand a fighting chance.”

“That's... oddly nice of you,” Alastor slurred, leaning up on his arms as his eyes struggled to stay open. “I leave it to you, then.”

“Good,” Husk grinned. “Now, about Razzle and Dazzle. You wanna get the ball rolling on that?"

To his surprise, Alastor shook his head. “I... I think I have some thinking of my own to do. Let's hold off on it for now.”

Husk's tail swished in worry. “You're not going to do anything crazy, are you?”

“No, I won't do anything extreme,” Alastor promised, holding up a hand. “No need to worry, I've calmed down. I just... I think I need to re-evaluate some things, is all. I have to get my head on straight.”

“Alright,” Husk nodded. “Try and get some shut-eye. You're gonna be feeling this in the morning.”

“Don't I know it. But I needed this,” Alastor said with a dry chuckle, summoning his staff and standing up with a slight wobble. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

“Night,” Husk replied, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders.

Husk leaned back and watched as Alastor yawned and ascended the stairs. As he disappeared from view, Alastor snapped his fingers and all of the candles extinguished save for a few near Husk, which he appreciated. Alone again, Husk poured himself another drink as he crossed his legs, using a bit of his own magic to summon a small notebook and pen from his room.

The scruffy bartender had a ton of work ahead of him if he wanted to fix this mess. And he had a feeling he'd have take up some solo initiative to push them in the right direction...


	7. Burning Bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Not to worry, I haven't forgotten about this story! The Holidays and New Year are always particularly busy and draining for me, so it feels good to get the ball rolling on this again. I hope everyone had a great time and wish you all the best in 2020!
> 
> Also, my apologies for slacking on replies. Even if I don't reply right away, I read every single thing you guys send me, and appreciate every single kudo or bookmark. I'm just rather busy and extremely awkward to boot, so I hope that's not taken the wrong way.
> 
> Also also, I got a lovely gift from Shisuri-Yoko here: https://esmeia.tumblr.com/post/190028866389/shisuri-yoko-practice-sweet-spam-i-was . It's BYOOTIFUL, I CAN'T. Please shower them in love and admiration. They undoubtedly made me entire week, as well as all the wonderful feedback you guys continue to give. You guys are spoiling me and I can't handle the feels. ;0;

The instant her alarm clock began to blare incessantly and rattle from its own obnoxious volume, Charlie's hand immediately slapped down onto it/ Surprisingly, she didn't need the rude awakening that morning. With a soft sigh, she rolled onto her back and hugged one of the fluffy pillows to her chest, staring up at the ceiling fan noiselessly spinning above her.

“Not like I managed to get any sleep anyway,” Charlie grumbled, rubbing her tired eyes before burying her face into the cushion clutched in her arms. “Ugh, what a night. I'm going to be a zombie all throughout today...”

Charlie groaned slightly as she rolled over restlessly in her bed, feeling that now-familiar writhing in her gut. Her poor stomach remained constricted in tight, never-ending little knots regarding everything she'd been through the night before. First, it was that nerve-wracking talk she had with Vaggie; apparently, Charlie hadn't noticed how close she and Alastor had gotten over just a few weeks. A large part of her still felt it was simply because they shared some strong common interests. It was totally normal for her to click so well with him when that was considered. No biggie!

Unfortunately, this innocent perception of her friendship with Alastor had come under heavy fire recently. The fact that Vaggie was convinced there was something much more – something to be concerned about – forced Charlie to venture into some truly confusing territory. She now found herself blushing frantically as she recalled many of her previous encounters with the charming Radio Demon, and if she might have been oblivious to him possibly... possibly liking her in that way? Could something like that really be happening...?

But then Charlie would burst out into a giggle fit, just like now. The idea of such a powerful and intimidating overlord like Alastor finding anything alluring in a silly, chipper girl such as herself was too bizarre for her to truly take seriously. Sure, they got along surprisingly well, but there was no chance of that happening. Had it not been for the fact that Charlie would die from the embarrassment of it, she was sure Alastor would get a huge kick out of the idea if she ever brought it to his attention. Heck, he'd probably be snickering about that for days!

Yet Vaggie's persistent worries had successfully began to cut through Charlie's denial. A persistent little part of her was beginning to bud with fresh doubt. What if Alastor really was interested in her, as unlikely as that may be? Each time she tried to consider this, Charlie would frantically shake her head as a frantic blush burned away at her face, her already rosy cheeks practically glowing as she became overwhelmed with a tidal wave of inexplicable feelings. Feelings she refused to acknowledge for any length of time. Anxiety from all that had happened recently was already making her sick; she did _not_ need anything else throwing her for a loop right now.

For what must have been the hundredth time that night, Charlie's thoughts were consumed by her redheaded business partner. More than anything else, guilt and heartbreak ate away at her soul. The outright wounded look in his eyes when she had stumbled over her words was something she'd never forget. She had only meant to set a few boundaries, to ease her girlfriend's worries and anxieties. But she'd somehow managed to spectacularly screw it up and had possibly ruined a friendship she'd quickly become accustomed to and treasure.

“I'm such an dummy,” Charlie sighed, closing her eyes tight as her insides writhed.

As the painful feeling seemed to snake up from her belly to her chest, Charlie sat upright suddenly. Razzle and Dazzle, snuggled into the thick sheets next to her, only twitched their ears at the slight disturbance before snoring lightly again. Charlie smiled and bent down to kiss both of her boys' foreheads before carefully swinging her legs over the side of the large plush bed, fresh determination pumping through her veins.

_It doesn't matter if I didn't mean it: I hurt Alastor. Badly. I owe him an apology and clarify what I actually meant_, Charlie thought, clutching her fists and nodding her head as if someone else was talking to her. _The last thing I want him to think is that we aren't friends. Time to be a grown-up and fix your mess, Charlie! Suck it up and just do! Don't let this continue on for any longer than it has to!_

The inspired royal stood up and walked over to her writing desk. She opened the topmost drawer and carefully searched through the large assortment of printed stationary. Her eyes caught sight of one decorated with adorable little deer and giggled, immediately thinking of Alastor – particularly those wonderfully expressive, fluffy ears of his. Charlie wondered if he had a cute wiggly tail to match?

“Yes, perfect! He'll love it!” Charlie squealed, making sure to grab a red-inked pen before taking her seat. She clicked the end of the pen as she leaned over the paper, tapping her lip as she thought of how to start the letter.

_Dear Alastor –_

“Wait, isn't that too formal? I don't want to be too formal,” Charlie worried, chewing her bottom lip gently. She used a little of her magic to undo the greeting.

_Hiya, Alastor! 🎵_

“There we go,” she muttered, satisfied. “Nice and casual, like good friends are supposed to be!”

_First off, I want to apologize for saying we were only business partners and nothing more. That was super wrong of me, and it's not what I want us to be at all. You really are my friend, and I should have corrected that the moment I said it. What I meant to say was –_

“Wait, what am I **doing**?”

Charlie froze, horrified. She quickly crumpled up the paper (and whimpered lightly as she watched the darling little deer get caught in the crossfire) and tossed it into the little waste bin close by. She allowed her head to bonk against the top of the desk, groaning at herself.

_Ugh, stupid, stupid, Charlie! Would __you__ want an apology letter, or someone to say it to your face? Al deserves better than some silly note snuck under his door!_ Charlie whimpered slightly, ashamed at herself for nearly taking the cowardly way out so easily.

But what if she choked and said something even more hurtful? Whenever Charlie was nervous, she'd somehow find a way to flounder over her words and say something utterly ridiculous. It was a bad habit she still couldn't seem to break even after centuries of existence. And she knew it'd only be worse when she looked up at Alastor as his gaze meeting hers so directly, with that handsomely devilish grin seemingly reserved just for her. Lord above help her if he called her “dear” or “sweetheart”, too.

“Ugh! Alastor, why are you like this?” Charlie lamented, folding her arms underneath her chin as that now familiar lump in her stomach and throat returned with renewed vengeance. “That's it, no more beating around the bush. I'll talk to Al and fix things today. The longer I let this go, the more damage I'll be doing,” she said with a frustrated huff. She sat up and stretched. “Alright, let's do this.”

*~*~*~*~*

As the red pseudo sun of Hell shone brighter to signal in a new day, Alastor heard familiar, rattling growls nearby. One heavy eyelid struggled to lift, revealing an unfocused and swirling iris underneath. He slowly turned his head to look down at the large alligator at his bedside, its long snout lightly nuzzling his dangling hand. He closed his eye again and managed a fond smile, gently patting and scritching the scaly creature, chuckling as it seemed to purr at the attention.

“Good morning, my dearest Clementine,” Alastor practically croaked, eyes fulling popping open in shock, reeling from how how alien his own voice sounded. He sat up much too quickly and the dizziness that flooded and swirled in his head nearly had the deer demon flopping ungracefully back onto his pillows. Holding himself steady with one arm, he lightly rubbed his throat with the other. “Gracious, I sound horrible. Now I remember why I tend not to drink that much.”

As if to really drive the point home, a sharp pain shot through Alastor's skull, blinding him with the unexpected intensity of it. This stab of agony succeeded in making him fall back onto his bed. Alastor groaned and clutched at his pounding head, his claws pressing so firmly into the skin of his scalp that they nearly drew blood. Nausea was beginning to rear its ugly head as well, and he prayed it wouldn't end up bubbling forth in the worst way. He'd anticipated he'd suffer through one hell of a hangover, but he wasn't prepared for just how torturous it would actually be.

The temptation to curl up and take the entire day off – safe from any nosy eyes – and take the opportunity to sleep off the worst effects of last night's binge drinking was nearly irresistible. Alastor grunted and threw the thick burgundy sheets over his head, turning on his side to do just that. But then, the thought of his pretty little business partner flashed across his mind. He just knew she'd wonder where he was and ask questions.

Alastor's ears twitched in a sort of shrug. _Oh well. Let her worry,_ he mused as nuzzled into the warmth of his bed.

But another possibility had Alastor jolting back into consciousness. What if Charlie grew so concerned that she decided to come to his bedroom directly to check up on him? And then saw him in this sad, pathetic state?

He shot up, horrified. No, there was no way he could allow that to happen. Alastor refused to give Charlie – and especially Vaggie – the notion that her words had affected him so deeply. That she had the ability to make him weak.

The Radio Demon was afraid of and hid from no one. **No one**.

Out of sheer bull-headed stubbornness, Alastor threw the sheets off and swung his body around to get up. His head was being pulverized by the headache, and his stomach churned in protest as the room spun in a whirl of sickening colors. But the man ignored every instinct to lie back down and crash. Clementine watched her lanky master stumble over to the bathroom, tail flicking in curiosity and concern. Alastor closed the door behind him and nearly retched into the sink, quickly turning the faucet to release cold water. He cupped his hands and allowed the water to pool in them before splashing the icy water onto his face, jolting himself forcibly, fully awake.

“How shameful,” Alastor grumbled, looking at his exhausted reflection in the mirror. He'd rarely seen the dark bags under his eyes so pronounced. “Today is just another day. Don't let this woman get under your skin. It's going to be business as usual. Just work quietly in your office, and the day will pass you by before you even realize it.”

But of course it wasn't going to be that easy. It wouldn't be Hell if things had went so ideally.

As soon as he'd taken a boiling hot shower and brushed his teeth, Alastor teleported himself directly into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Thankfully, he'd successfully avoided accidentally running into anyone or being interrupted as he went about his cooking and set the table, utilizing his shadow minions to make the process go by faster. He announced that breakfast was ready and took his own full plate back up into his office.

Nearing midday, Alastor was content to look over some financial statements as he sat quietly reclined in the large leather chair. He adjusted his rectangular reading glasses, the soft ticking of the nearby grandfather clock providing a somewhat soothing atmosphere. His scarlet eyes carefully analyzed the data, his mind mercifully consumed with how to improve the hotel going forward.

But the serene solitude was interrupted by a soft, almost inaudible knock on the door. Alastor carefully folded his glasses and set them aside before standing up to stretch.

“Come in,” Alastor said, snapping his fingers to magically unlock the door.

Before he could prepare himself. Alastor's heart shot into overdrive at the sight of Charlie's head popping into view, a brilliant smile on her sunshine face. The dimly lit room seemed to flood with light at her presence, and for a moment, Alastor could only bask in the euphoria. As if on instinct, a wide smile of his own sprung to match at the sight of the lovely princess in front of him. But he soon forced that excitement away, recalling their new, strictly professional relationship. It became much easier to quell his excitement when he saw the shorter form of Vaggie enter the room as well.

_This little moth's getting bolder_, Alastor noted with a snide chuckle. He cleared his through and adjusted his bow tie as he approached the pair of women.

“Ah, Charlotte! And Vaggie,” he greeted, smiling politely. “Good evening, ladies. What can I do for you?”

Charlie winced, the smile nearly slipping from her face at the sound of her full name. It was obvious the formal greeting had cut deep, but Alastor couldn't bring himself to care too much this time. He wanted her to feel that pain of distance, and he got some pleasure out of seeing her fidget in front of him.

“H-Hi, Al! Um...” Charlie forced herself to recover from his words, the vibrant smile returning once more. “Since it's really hot out today, a lot of us are going out for some ice cream!”

“Oh?” Alastor said, raising a brow as he folded his arms behind his back. “That sounds lovely.”

“Right?” Charlie said, somewhat emboldened by his response. “I-I was wondering if you'd like to join us. You've been working so hard all day, and you deserve a nice break. I know you're not a big fan of sweet things, but this shop I found has a lot of really weird recipes.It's like a mini-adventure for your taste buds! There's bound to be a treat just for you, Al!” Charlie said with a cute little swipe of her arm, like she was selling him a fancy new product. She caught herself and blushed, wanting to kick herself for being so goofy.

Despite his mood, Alastor couldn't help but let out a chuckle. This slip earned himself an eager little smile from the girl before him. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, those wonderfully expressive eyes practically sparkling in hope as she looked up at him.

“Would you like to come along? It'll be fun!” Charlie asked, bouncing a little.

Alastor peered down at her silently, considering the situation carefully. Charlie's attempts to extend an olive branch to him was obvious. He knew she would eventually, but he couldn't ignore the tugging of a genuine smile at the realization that she'd try and reconcile with him so quickly. Furthermore, that painfully sentimental part of him was pleased that she remembered little things about him, like his distaste for sweets. He stepped closer, prepared to take her up on the offer and meet her halfway.

“Charlie, I think Alastor is busy today. You shouldn't bother him.”

Alastor's eyes widened and his gaze shot over to the other woman in the room, having almost forgotten about her entirely. Vaggie pouted at Charlie, tapping her foot impatiently.

Memories of the night prior slashed cleanly through the bliss Charlie naturally generated a white hot knife. How she'd allowed Vaggie to dictate things between them and had sent Alastor into a disgraceful – if brief – spiral as a result. Humiliation seared in his gut as he took two steps back from Charlie. Her smile faltered as she watched him, confusion etched all over her face. Alastor adjusted his monocle, turning away from her.

“As tempting as that offer is, Ms. Magne, your ladyfriend is correct: I have a lot of paperwork to sift through this evening. It can get a bit monotonous, but it's important work to go through. And I've never been one to procrastinate,” Alastor said airily, savoring the sight of Charlie rapidly deflating from the rejection.

“See?” Vaggie said as she turned to Charlie. “Come on, hun, we shouldn't interrupt him.”

“Oh,” Charlie replied weakly, fidgeting with her hair anxiously. “A-Are you sure, Al? I completely understand and respect your work ethic, don't get be wrong! But we'd only be out for a little while. I don't want you to overdo it either.”

Alastor's heart fluttered at the concern, but he refused to get distracted by it. No goddamn butterflies were going to make him get hurt again. It was _her_ turn.

“Oh, that won't do! This hotel is your dream, is it not?” Alastor asked, holding out his arms and motioning at their surroundings. He peered over his shoulder and looked down at Charlie, his gaze seemingly to burn right through her. “We can't allow anything to fall by the wayside, Charlotte. Surely, you wouldn't want me to skip over anything that could jeopardize the success of your hotel?”

“No! No, of course not!” Charlie immediately denied as she waved her hands, alarmed. “I just meant –”

“Good. Then please do not worry; I may not always seem like it, but I'm quite experienced in running a business,” Alastor said proudly. “Rest assured that I will take care of things here. I have some very influential sponsors lined up for consideration today, all of which could bring about rare opportunities for you. Please enjoy yourselves! Don't let me get in the way of spending time with your _friends_, Ms. Magne.”

Charlie jolted as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her eyes widened at Alastor's words before casting downward, rubbing her arms as she was rendered speechless.

All of this _should_ have brought Alastor sweet, sadistic fulfillment. Charlie looked broken, vulnerable – no different than she had left him just the night before.

But, to Alastor's horror, the pain he inflicted on Charlie sharply ricocheted. It was like slicing at someone with a blade, only for it to swing right round and embed itself deeply into his heart. He nearly stumbled at the feeling, bewildered at what just occured.

“I-I understand. Sorry for bothering you, Al. But hey, maybe next time?” Charlie stuttered, a shaky smile on her lips as she struggled to mask her disappointment. She looked up at him, practically pleading with her eyes for him to change his mind.

“Ah? Yes, maybe another time,” Alastor replied numbly, blinking his eyes rapidly as he struggled to compose himself. “Do enjoy, ladies.”

“Thank you! Uh, we'll be back soon! Make sure to take a break, though, okay?” Charlie said shyly, looking up at him for a moment before turning to leave their shared office.

In that moment, as he watched Charlie move away from him, Alastor felt all of his goal of hurting Charlie rapidly crumble, crashing down to dust with the realization that he **despised** seeing her upset. Even worse, when it was because of something he did. Surely, a large part of him still relished at seeing her in such conflicted turmoil; he'd always been a sadist, and seeing such a sweet little thing suffer brought on a sick and twisted thrill. Even moreso because he loved her. It was like testing the limits of endurance of a most beloved and valuable toy. It was odd – insane, even, but that's just the way he'd always been. Love and madness were inexplicably intertwined for Alastor.

However, that more tender part of Alastor – that _repugnant_ side that had been been growing in strength since the day they'd met – lashed back out in protest of hurting such a lovely soul. It compelled him to reach out and gently stop Charlie, for him to take all of it back and accept her invitation for ice cream – even if it was the most nauseatingly syrupy kind – if it meant they could finally clear this awful atmosphere. It'd only been a damned day of it, but Alastor felt like he was being pulled in two from it all.

“I don't even see why you wanted him to come along,” Vaggie was saying to Charlie as they walked out into the hallway. Alastor froze in his tracks, watching the pair silently.

Charlie sighed tiredly and combed her fingers through her golden tresses. “Yes, I heard you the first five times you said it.” Vaggie's eyes widened and Charlie quickly held up her hands. “Sorry! I didn't mean it to come out like that. I just... I had to try, okay?”

“I know, hun,” Vaggie softened and hugged the taller demoness. Alastor wanted to vomit at the sight when he saw a smile blossom on her face. “Maybe next time. Come on, let's get some ice cream! Maybe we can make yours a banana split sundae to cheer you up.”

Charlie smiled a little in response, allowing Vaggie to take her hand and lead the way. “Yeah, that sounds good, actually.”

Vaggie seemed to glow as she guided her girlfriend away, and the pure mixture of happiness and **smugness** on her face made Alastor's blood boil. She looked so victorious, so secure in having successfully whisked Charlie away from him. He'd never seen the miserable moth as anything but since the day he stepped foot inside the hotel, but he was sure this was the happiest she'd been in a long time. She was enjoying every single moment of this, of watching him back down so that she could have Charlie all to herself.

It took everything in the red-clad demon to steady his trembling, sharpened claws from doing something he knew he'd regret. He recalled his promise to Husk to fight against his murderous inclinations, opting to instead grab the doorknob and close it firmly. Snapping his fingers once more, it locked with a soft click.

_This insect will pay dearly_, he thought with a growl, his smile drawing a bit of blood and filling his mouth with the taste of copper. It soothed his bloodlust slightly as glowing runes began to float around him. _In due time. Let her dig that grave a little deeper in the meantime._

He'd always been a patient man.


	8. The Bitter and The Sweet

Charlie stifled another depressed little sigh as she sat underneath the large umbrella overhanging the table, chin rested in the palm of her hand. She stared listlessly at her favorite vanilla and strawberry swirl practically smothered in multicolored sprinkles. It was a comically tall scoop, balanced miraculously in its comparatively tiny waffle cone; nonetheless, it would have been normally been happily gobbled up over the span of a few minutes by the sweet-toothed princess. That is, if her appetite for the icy treat hadn't been completely shot, her mind once again consumed by a certain dapper deer.

All she could think of was Alastor being cooped up in that dusty old office with miles and piles of boring paperwork. Her dark eyes watched as her ice cream began to melt under the blazing sun, the whites and pinks mixing as they slowly trickled across her pale fingers.

Charlie's imagination began to run wild and take her to a different, nicer scenario. One where Alastor had agreed to join them, sitting next to her as they eagerly chatted away about anything and everything. A smile gently blossomed on her lips at the thought of them people-watching and exchanging silly jokes and puns, and making everyone else's eyes roll as they laughed at their weird sense of shared humor.

She hid an outright grin behind her palm and a turn of her head as she pictured Alastor going on about how things were done in his time compared to now. Charlie normally found the grumblings of older demons regarding the changing times irritating at best, but Alastor's observations and views were often hilarious. Charming, even! It was oddly adorable seeing him marvel at something more modern and wrapping his head around it his wacky, 1920s way.

“_Good golly, look at this parlor! I didn't think you could have so many flavors of ice cream. When I was a boy, all we had in my neighborhood was vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and maybe sometimes some awful variation of rocky road. And now look! We've got little ice cream made from eyes! Eyes-cream! Ohohoho, that's genius! Wouldn't that be interesting to have had back in the day! Then again, darlin', that might have set me on a troubled path **much** sooner...”_

Charlie had to try hard not to snort from the giggles. Oh, and what she wouldn't give for one of his patented “dad jokes”! And she'd watch Alastor smile brightly as he commented on the tastiness of the stag's blood-flavored cone she'd been surprised (and a little mortified) to see advertised. Then she'd playfully rub it in his face that she _knew_ there would be something he'd enjoy if he tagged along.

_Maybe I should have stayed behind and offered to help him work through those documents_, Charlie thought with deep regret, inwardly kicking herself for not insisting on that. _Dang it! That would have been the perfect chance to apologize and show him that he doesn't have to carry so much on his own. Why am I so dumb! Why can't I think of these things when it matters most?_

As Charlie worked through her myriad of conflicted thoughts, Vaggie sat watching her blonde girlfriend carefully, concern etched all over her features. She lifted up her sunglasses to get a better look at her, taking notice of the slight pout on her black lips and the lack of usual sparkle in her eyes. Vaggie's gut burned, even more when she tried to ignore it and what it stemmed from.

She was no fool: Vaggie had a sneaking, dreadful suspicion that the absence of a certain antlered demon was the cause of her girlfriend's melancholy. For reasons Vaggie knew she'd never even remotely comprehend, Charlie had grown attached to the Radio Demon in practically no time at all. And it terrified her: it was way too easy for Alastor to get into Charlie's head. If she hadn't intervened when she had, who knows what kind of awful things his manipulation would have brought on.

_That's why this is necessary_, Vaggie reasoned, tucking a few silver strands of hair behind her ear. _That bastard's just getting close to Charlie so that he can use her and bring down everything she's worked so hard for. She might not like or understand it now, but she'll end up thanking me one day. I'm only doing this to keep her safe._

The burning intensified, as if the guilt bubbling up inside of her was lashing out angrily – as if it knew there was more to her actions than she wanted to admit. Vaggie thought of Razzle and Dazzle, and how she'd secretly employed them to keep tabs on Charlie and Alastor. When she'd asked Charlie to put distance between herself and Alastor, her love had – if reluctantly – agreed. But when she asked for Vaggie to trust her more in return... she couldn't quite commit to that promise. She'd lied, fulling intending to continue her surveillance by using her lover's own beloved pets.

What would Charlie say if she'd ever found out...?

Vaggie bit her lip as her heart jumped and a lump began to form in her throat. Her eye darted up to take in the distracted form of Charlie, who was looking over at the rolling waves of the nearby sea, looking just as lost in her thoughts as Vaggie was. Vaggie's leg bounced as the anxiety built up, and she was overcome with the desire to confess and apologize.

_No!_ Vaggie shook her head, inhaling deeply. _I'm doing this to protect Charlie. She doesn't have to know about this. If it wasn't for me keeping an eye out, who knows where we'd be. Charlie's too naive to see it, and I needed to step in. It may not be totally right, sure, but it's all worth it if I can keep us safe from him._

Her stomach flipped again, causing Vaggie to wince. But was their safety the only thing she was worried about? Could it be that she felt threatened by Alastor for totally different reasons...?

No. Vaggie refused to give any mind to that. The idea that Alastor was after Charlie already easily sent her into a panic, but the possibility that she could reciprocate it?

Vaggie closed her eyes and breathed out again, calming her nerves. No, there was no chance of that. Charlie had finally promised to distance herself from Alastor a bit, and Vaggie was not going to give her any opportunity to back out of that now. If there was even a _speck_ of a spark between them, she was determined to snuff it out now. It really was for the best, in the long run. She just had to keep that in mind.

“Sweetie? Your ice cream is melting,” Vaggie said softly, placing a gentle hand on Charlie's shoulder. “Are you okay? Is there something you want to talk about?”

“Oh!” Charlie jumped slightly, quickly licking the melted cream from her fingers and the side of the cone. “S-Sorry. It's just the heat getting to my head, that's all! I'm fine, Vaggie, really. I just got a bit distracted.”

Vaggie folded her arms and leaned back, licking at her chocolate mint cone. Charlie had always been a terrible liar. Fortunately for her, she wasn't too keen on pressing for more. “I see. I just don't want your ice cream to melt away.”

“Yeah, thanks. I'd hate for that to happen too. It's so rare we get to treat ourselves like this!” Charlie said, forcing a bit more liveliness into her voice. She scooted closer to Vaggie and rested her head lightly against hers, earning a small chuckle from the moth. “We've all worked so hard, we definitely deserve breaks like these.”

“Tell me about it!” Angel Dust chimed in, expertly working his tongue along the pink lemonade-inspire popsicle in one of his many hands.

Vaggie looked up at him in disbelief. “What do you mean 'tell me about it'? You don't do anything but cause trouble or laze around while _we_ do all the hard work!”

“Hey! I work hard – at the studio, I mean,” Angel Dust snickered, allowing some of his ice pop to drip down his lips and onto his fluffy cleavage, the pseudo-bust squeezed slightly in his short pink tank top. He moaned softly and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Husk sitting across from him, earning himself a sharp glare. “**Oohhhh**, so tasty! It's getting me all messy~”

“It'd help if you just ate the damn thing. Most of it hasn't even gotten in your mouth,” Husk grumbled, rolling his eyes at the spider's flirtatious actions. “Cut that shit out.”

Angel Dust laughed good-naturedly, giving the disgruntled cat a wink. “Aww, you're cute when you're angry, kitten. And nice to know you can't keep your eyes off me.”

“I told you not to call me that!” Husk snapped, fur frizzing up in disgust. “Fuck off.”

“Hey, it's a cute nickname for you, babe! Don't pout; you're beginning to look as sorry as Charlie over here,” the spider demon teased, looking over at Charlie. “You okay, princess? You're looking pretty down in the dumps today. I thought you'd be bouncing off the walls – at least from the sugar rush.”

“Huh? No, I'm fine!” Charlie insisted, blushing at all the attention she's inadvertently attracted. “I'm just a bit hot, that's all.”

“Oh, I'd say you're hot, all right: hot and bothered over your Deer Daddy!” Angel Dust guessed,, throwing his head back in laughter. “You're missing him something awful, ain't? And I thought I had it bad! Not that I can blame you, sweets. You've got good taste!”

These blunt words caused Charlie to lurch forward and choke heavily on her ice cream, coughing and flailing her arms as she struggled to compose herself. Her face flushed bright red, and she was deeply thankful when her long hair completely covered her face as she gasped for air. Her reaction only served to tickle Angel Dust more, as he began holding his sides with his lower set of arms from his breathless cackling. Vaggie patted Charlie's back to help her regain her breath, shooting daggers at the scantily clad man across from her.

“Guess I hit the nail right on the head with that one!”

“Angel Dust, that's not funny! Don't even joke around like that!” Vaggie fumed, wanting to stomp over and strangle the stupidly crass spider. “You're being totally inappropriate!”

“But I'm right!” Angel Dust snickered through his gloved fingers, failing miserably to stifle his giggles. “I just said what everyone was thinking! Don't get salty, Vag. You jealous or somethin'?”

“Ugh, **that's it**. We need to have a talk about you thinking you can say whatever stupid bullshit crosses that little brain of yours!” Vaggie growled, standing up and storming over to Angel Dust. She grabbed a free arm and dragged him away towards the nearby pier. “Come on, get up. I've had enough of you for one day!”

“Ow! Hey, I was only kidding! Come on, Vag, I was just playing around – ow! Watch it, I just got nails done!” Angel Dust complained, but was easily dragged along by the small woman despite his protests. “Vag, come onnnn! Lighten up, babe!”

As she watched the pair leave, Charlie finally managed to fight off the humiliated blush. She glanced around, the mortification nearly returning full-force at the sight of everyone staring at her. “Ahaha, that Angel Dust. What a kidder...!”

Many of the other demons that had decided to tag along only chuckled and whispered amongst themselves. Charlie lightly smacked a palm to her forehead. Sure, she wouldn't mind too much if it got around that she was missing Alastor – it was true, after all. But she knew how this kind of thing tended to morph into something scandalous, and only prayed that Alastor wasn't one to pay silly gossip much mind.

Husk casually glanced at the now emptied chair next to Charlie before taking the opportunity to plop himself down in it. He smirked behind his chocolate ice cream. _Christ, these two are open books once you get to know them. Time to play intervention._

“Hey, kid, no shame in missing him, you know,” Husk said with a detached shrug. Charlie looked up at him curiously. “You two have gotten real close over the last month or so. Nothing weird about you two being friends.”

“You think so?” Charlie said shyly, biting into the side of her cone with her impressive fangs. “I don't want to be a bother to him or anything.”

Husk laughed genuinely, tickled at the very notion. “Woah, you kiddin'? That bastard –“

“I miss Alastor too!” Niffty interjected, popping up seemingly out of nowhere between Husk and Charlie. Husk frizzled slightly and narrowed his eyes at the bouncing little woman as she looked hopped up on what had to be her third ice cream cone. “A man really shouldn't have to pull most of the work, you know! Charlie, you're a lady and this is _your_ hotel, you really should be the one doing most of the work! It's not proper to make the man of the house do all the – ”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for that outdated input,” Husk cut in, shoving her away firmly with a clawed hand as Niffty continued to yap. He noticed Charlie's already depressed form slump further from guilt. “Hey, don't worry about it. That's just Niffty being stuck in her housewife ways. You're doing plenty of work, kid.”

“Thanks,” Charlie smiled, but it soon fell. “But I really should be doing more. Alastor doesn't deserve to be stuck there all day like this.”

“Trust me, that old buck doesn't mind it,” Husk assured her, grinning. “Especially if it's for you.”

“O-Oh?” Charlie blushed again, tucking a bit of her hair behind an ear. “He's a really nice guy, huh?”

Husk sneered and chuckled. “I don't know about all _that_, but he's got his rare soft spots, I guess,” he mused, rubbing his fuzzy chin. “But hey, that's not a bad idea you've got, helping him out with business stuff. He's best available after midnight, after everyone else has crashed for the night.”

Charlie's eyebrow rose in interest, thinking back to her encounter with Alastor after a late-night job. “Yeah, he is a night owl...”

Husk nodded. “And nothing gets his gears turning like a good meal and drink. He's a sucker for raw meet – especially deer, that damn cannibal. He's big on Louisiana food too, if that wasn't obvious by now.”

Charlie turned around fully, her interest growing rapidly. “Oh, a big foodie! I could have guessed,” she giggled.

“And he loves his wine,” Husk went on, snickering behind his hand at the thought of last night. “I don't think I've ever found a wine that bastard didn't like. I think he's more into the Moscattos, though. Oh, and he's big on coffee – black, no sugar. Maybe a bit of milk, if he's in the mood,” he continued, his bartender knowledge kicked into full gear.

“Right, not a big fan of sweets!” Charlie said with a nod, absorbing all of the tidbits eagerly. She had to force an air of composure, not wanting to seem too interested. “T-Thanks, Husk. I'll keep that in mind. For business purposes!” she stressed unconvincingly.

Husk grinned. “No problem. Hey, if there's anything else you wanna know about the Radio Demon, hit me up anytime. I've known that asshole for a long time now. I'm sure I can help you out.”

Charlie smiled brightly, eyes sparkling. “Thank you, Husk.”

*~*~*~*~*

Later that night, Alastor had retired a early to his bedroom. Turns out, stewing in anger and fantasizing about killing anyone who had even _slightly_ ticked him off was terrible for his mental state, but great for work productivity. In fact, he'd barely noticed the painful hammering of his migraine as he distracted himself with work that day. Anything to get his mind off of Charlie was fine by him.

Alastor sat at his small dining table with only the flickering embers of a few candles illuminating the room, the soft lighting doing wonders in putting his anxious mind at ease. The lazy blinking of the fireflies alongside serenading crickets added to the relaxing atmosphere.

Razor-shap teeth sank easily into the savory flesh of a stag's leg, the rest of the unfortunate, mutilated creature lying between the table and the bayou section of his chambers. Alastor looked over at the bulging, lifeless eyes of his recent kill; with him being so on-edge tonight, he couldn't resist taking out his frustrations on his favorite prey. He hadn't held anything back as he brutalized the animal, and he was sure he'd feel something akin to pity for it, if there was any within him. It certainly a far cry from his quick and clean dispatching of that doe not so long ago...

His cheeks burned as he recalled his allowing Charlie to touch his ears that night. Alastor ran his non-bloodied hand over his face in a futile effort to rid his mind of her again, recalling those wonderfully bright eyes staring intently back into his as her fingers worked their magic over his sensitive ears. The effect Charlie had on him was undeniably, absolutely bewitching, and Alastor couldn't decide if he found it alarming, addictive, or disgusting. Perhaps a strange mix of all three.

Shaking his head, Alastor glanced down at the syrupy romance novel he'd purchased discreetly only a few days ago. He'd barely touched it since they're “falling out”, as it were. He couldn't stand to read even one line of the cheesy romance that laid inside it without immediately connecting it to Charlie in some way. Every little thing was beginning to remind him of her.

For the first time in what felt like decades, Alastor felt his nearly constant smile fade into a more neutral expression. Had someone been around to witness it, they may have mistook it for a frown. The lack of his usual Cheshire grin hurt his cheeks a bit; he'd been so accustomed to masking any other emotion with it that it felt more like a default expression nowadays. Hell, even as he slept, he'd been sure to keep it on – showing weakness could get you killed down here. This was a lesson he had learned _very_ quickly.

But it was only in the privacy in his chambers, completely secluded save for his dear Clementine, that he allowed all of his heavy emotions to win out and show themselves outwardly.

This girl, this darling, **infuriating** girl, was going to be the death of him. This, he was certain of. If Alastor didn't get his head on straight and push back these romantic fantasies, Charlie would surely be his downfall. He'd never be anyone's fool, yet he found himself contradicting this with worryingly increasing frequency ever since he'd laid eyes on Charlie Magne. Letting her pet his ears like a woodland animal, fawning over her like some silly teenager, seeking advice from a grouchy old cat, getting embarrassingly drunk when things didn't go his way.

Enough was enough! He was the uncaring and cruel Radio Demon, and he had an important reputation to uphold. It was high time he remembered who he was and not get lost in this fanciful illusion any further.

Feeling like a fire had been ignited within him, Alastor lifted up the novel. A moment later, a spark of supernatural flame flared to life on his pointed fingertips, catching onto the paperback and lighting it ablaze. He watched as it quickly became engulfed in a mesmerizing dance of red and yellow tongues of fire, the saccharine book's cover and pages curling and decomposing under the heat. Soon enough, nothing was left behind of the book but glowing embers; Alastor allowed the remains to flutter and scatter from his hands. Clementine, resting on the bank of her swamp, opened a sleepy green eye to watch some of the ashes land on the water's surface, growling serenely.

_With that, I think it's time I focus on what's most important_, Alastor thought, his grin returning. _I've done enough chasing for a while. If Charlie cares even a little for my company, then she'd do well to show it. Prove to me that I'm not some fool chasing after the impossible._

Feeling rejuvenated, Alastor bent down to hoist up the buck's corpse. Clementine immediately lifted her head in anticipation, the tip of her long scaly tail wagging cutely against the water's surface. He chuckled and tossed it over to his beloved pet, watching her happily clamp her strong jaws into the flesh and drag it into the murky depths of her bayou. Stretching his lithe frame, Alastor then made his way towards the bathroom, intent on a long, hot lazing in the bath.

Alastor paused just before stepping onto the tile, grabbing a thick folder of documents on his dresser. With him getting so much out of the way already, why not keep it up by getting the ball firmly rolling on a few of those influential sponsors? There were quite a few old friends and acquaintances who'd be of extreme use to him, if he played his card right...


	9. Lines Drawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have NO idea how excited I was to finally get to this chapter! It's a particularly long one, but it's probably one of my personal faves so far. I feel this is when the ball really starts moving along, and can't wait to reveal what's next!
> 
> Oh, and with Charlastor Week coming up, you may see updates a little bit earlier in the week, as well as some one-shots/unrelated stories coming out soon. I'm on a OTP high and need to release it! >:3
> 
> Once again, thank you all for the wonderful feedback, in any form you give it! I love you all so much, I can't really say that enough. I'll finally get around to properly replying to messages now that things have officially winded down for me to focus. I'll also be looking into getting some help proof-reading these chapters, as I know they can be full of typos and other grammatical errors. I'll try and fix those up here and in previous chapters as I spot them, but I'll definitely try and get better at cleaning them up before each upload.

Much to Charlie's dismay, things had only become more strained and cold between her and Alastor over the next several days. The growing distance had her poor stomach in constant knots, and she was feeling the sharp sting of his absence more and more with each passing day. It was honestly embarrassing how easily Alastor had gotten under her skin in the short span of time they'd known each other. But this feeling was ultimately overshadowed by Charlie's genuine desire to resume her friendship with him, and she was growing desperate to break through the hard, almost icy exterior her business partner had built.

Oh, she'd made sure to put on a good show for everyone else – especially Vaggie. Charlie managed to maintain her usual optimism and bubbly persona, and made extra sure to not slack when it came to the care and betterment of her hotel residents. And if there was any positives to her current predicament, it was seeing Alastor making good on his commitment to help her run things – dubious motivations aside. Charlie was happy to say that none of the current residents had dropped out yet! They were even relatively well-behaved – well, as far as a demon could be said to be, anyway.

But progress was progress, and she was proud of her little family!

And to Charlie's great relief, her relationship had stabilized. If there was anything Charlie was happy for, it was seeing a dazzlingly heartfelt on Vaggie's face on a regular basis again. In fact, her girlfriend had delightfully surprised her a few times with impromptu dates! That kind of thing was usually Charlie's way, but she wasn't complaining. More quality time was never a bad thing, especially when it seemed to lift Vaggie's spirits and ease her worries. It was all worth it to see her so happy, so content, so radiant. She was really at her most beautiful when she wasn't so stressed, and Charlie wanted to keep it that way.

And yet...

Something terrible burned at the back of Charlie's mind: had things going back to “normal” really been worth what she agreed to give up? Whenever this complicated question cropped up, she'd quickly bury it by insisting it was.

But to her horror, this doubt began to corrupt into a gradual resentment towards Vaggie. Every time Charlie's offer to hang out was declined or deflected by Alastor (or even to just have a conversation unrelated to business), her partner would seem to glow in response, no matter how shattered or despondent Charlie felt...

No, Charlie **refused** to blame Vaggie for this. It wasn't her fault she had misspoke and hurt Alastor, it was hers. She could have refused if it was such a big deal, and now she had to deal with the mess she'd made.

If anything, she was mad at herself, self-loathing bubbling inside of her like a poison. Charlie couldn't stop thinking of Alastor and all the ways he'd effortlessly make a bad day infinitely brighter. Whether that be his infectious laughter, his charmingly toothy smiles, his adorably zany energy, his intriguingly eccentric tendencies. Heck, Charlie could probably fill a book with all of the things, big and small, that had her smiling when it came to Alastor. Even his bloody history was a source of fascination. The Radio Demon sparked her curiosity like no other; even with all the mystery surrounding him, Charlie was all too excited to discover something new.

Charlie's insides twisted and her heart pounded at the realization that Alastor had somehow wormed his way firmly into her mind, and that now it felt like a gaping hole was left in his absence.

It was simply pure torture for Charlie whenever Alastor would walk away from her after a painfully brief and formal conversation on the increasingly rare times they'd encounter each other privately. It wasn't that Alastor was being mean or anything:he remained the model gentleman, speaking to Charlie calmly and pleasantly – always Ms. Magne this or Charlotte that.

It was all perfectly, appropriately professional. And it was driving her bonkers.

In all honestly, Charlie would have preferred Alastor lash out and snap at her. At least then it'd show he still cared in some capacity. Give her a sign that she hadn't completely ruined things between them.

Charlie huffed as her cheeks burned, rolling over onto her stomach to bury her face into an over-fluffed pillow to pout. It was rapidly dawning on her just how much she cared for the red-headed deer demon, and she wasn't sure how to handle this revelation. Sure, she knew shortly after meeting him that she'd like him, but this was...

_He's the Radio Demon, Charlie! You _ _ **know** _ _ what kind of terrible things he's known for! You can't just ignore all of that! You know he doesn't care about anyone or anything, so why give him that luxury? Don't be so naive!_

But try as she might, Charlie couldn't completely convince herself of this. Sure, Alastor was probably up to... something. Naive she may be, but she was no idiot: Alastor offering to help run the hotel most certainly involved some ulterior motive. Hell, Vaggie wouldn't let a day go by where she didn't caution Charlie on trusting the notorious demon. Charlie figured that Alastor was attempting to use her to get at her Dad; that was the most reasonable conclusion.

_Too bad I've basically been disowned,_ Charlie thought with a smirk and roll of her eyes. _He's barking up the wrong tree if that's what he's after._

Or maybe Alastor really was just plotting to eventually topple all of her hard work simply for twisted entertainment. That was still on the table, Charlie mused. But, even with that distinct possibility, she felt she could take care of him if it ever came to that. It wasn't like she was helpless, as much as everyone seemed to think so.

Despite this, Charlie felt a tugging doubt the more she got to know Alastor. She found herself wanting to believe that he was rather upfront about being there out of pure boredom, and genuinely offering his assistance regardless of their differing views on redemption. She stubbornly wanted to give Alastor the opportunity to do better and see a change in him, even if he adamantly denied the possibility himself. It was an irresistible fascination for Charlie to see if there was even a crumb of kindness or compassion within that wendigo.

Charlie sat up, her hair poofed up a bit from her constant fretting. She had tried to get a nap in during the slow drawl of the day, but now her courage and determination had been reignited. This was no time for sleeping!

“Alright, enough is enough. I'm going to set things right today!” Charlie told herself firmly, clenching a fist. Razzle and Dazzle eyed her curiously, tilting their heads and twitching their reptilian tails. Her lip poked out in response. “I mean it this time! You'll see!”

Encouraged by Husk's advise, Charlie managed to stay up later at night to better catch Alastor outside of work. To her great relief one evening, she'd managed to find him relaxing at the dining room table with some coffee. Even better, he seemed more open to casual conversation. Carefully, Charlie stuck to light business-related topics at first, hoping to smoothly ease into what she really wanted to talk about. But just when she felt she'd set the right mood, Vaggie seemingly popped out of nowhere.

“Hey, hun, there you are. I've been looking all over for you!” Vaggie smiled as she walked over to Charlie, kissing a rosey cheek cheerfully.

Charlie smiled down at Vaggie, eyes darting nervously back to Alastor as if expecting him to disappear. The tall demon rested his back against the wall and folded his arms as he watched the pair, quietly sipping from his cup. Charlie's face burned in response to the watchful, unreadable gaze.

“Hey, Vaggie! Um, did you need me for something?” Charlie quickly asked, praying the frantic annoyance surging through her mind didn't show in her voice or expression.

“I did, _mi amor_. Angel Dust got us some movie tickets to see that cute romantic comedy you've been talking about recently,” Vaggie twinkled, seemingly taking no notice of the staring, looming man in beside them. Charlie shifted uncomfortably, biting her tongue to stop herself from interrupting. “You know, as an apology for inappropriate... **thing**, the other day,” Vaggie added with a cough, finally glancing over at Alastor. He only tilted his head a little in confusion, his ever-present smile never wavering.

“Wow, that's great!” Charlie replied; while she was excited at the surprise, she winced when the words tumbled out too quickly. She felt herself blush, knowing how rude it was for her to pull Alastor aside only to get caught up with someone else. “I'll be right with you in a moment, sweetie. I wanted to talk to Alastor about something important.”

Vaggie frowned, looking a bit wounded. “But Charlie, the movie's going to start soon. We should really start heading out if we want to grab good seats. Can't it wait until later?” she asked softly, poking out her lip a little.

Charlie gulped: she'd always been a sucker for that kind of look. But she had to stay strong if she wanted to clear the air with Alastor.

“Well, it's – it should only take a moment – ”

“Please, it's quite alright,” Alastor suddenly spoke up, making Charlie jump a little. He straightened up and smiled wider. “Nothing lifts up the spirits like a good picture show, I always say! Don't let me stop you from having a good ol' time, ladies!”

“B-But – !” Charlei stuttered, feeling herself become frazzled. _Why does it always end up this way!?_

“It's alright, Ms. Magne. Whatever you wanted to talk about can surely wait until a more convenient time,” Alastor went on, fixing his bow tie with a cheerful little hum. He turned on his heel and began walking away. “Besides, I do believe there's more work I can get out of the way today. I'll see you later, hm?” he finished, giving Charlie a polite smile as he looked back over his shoulder.

“Y-Yeah, of course we can,” Charlie replied, shoulders slumping as she watched the antlered demon make his way upstairs. “There always next time,” she muttered bitterly under her breath, folding her arms.

Vaggie turned to her, an excited grin on her face. “See? It's fine, Charlie. Come on, let's get ready!”

“Yeah, I'm coming,” Charlie said, forcing a wide smile. As soon as Vaggie turned her back to her, Charlie let off a wave of anger and frustration by switching to her more demonic form, horns piercing through the porcelain skin of her head as her eyes flashed crimson and her teeth sharpened. Flames billowed around her form as she fumed, and pure malevolent energy thickly filled the space. Thankfully, hadn't noticed this brief slip; after a few moments, Charlie instantly composed herself by the time her girlfriend looked back at her quizzically. “Oh, I'll be along! Just gotta freshen up. Meet you out front in five minutes?”

“Sounds good! Angel Dust and I will get the car ready,” Vaggie beamed, walking towards the entrance.

_Get a grip,_ Charlie admonished herself, running her fingers through her hair and breathing out softly. _You'll get another chance, and Vaggie didn't meant to interrupt. Go have fun with her and enjoy the movie. No big deal, you can try again later._

Yet try as she might, all of Charlie's subsequent attempts were wholly thwarted. Luckily, getting Alastor alone was no longer an issue, thanks to understanding his general schedule: Charlie had succeeded in pulling Alastor away from his work to discuss new ideas/innovations for the hotel, or collaborate to chip through chunks of the mounting paperwork. And just when she felt like he was beginning to relax a little and allow her to segway into an apology, Vaggie would mysteriously appear to distract or whisk Charlie away with one thing or another. And even on the times she _didn't_ have something suddenly planned for the two of them, she'd hover about as Charlie tried to discuss something with Alastor. Whenever Charlie tried to gently press her to leave with the excuse that their conversations were nothing but dry and complicated business-related stuff, Vaggie would only reply that she didn't mind and make absolutely no move to leave them to it.

To be frank, it was beginning to piss Charlie off. She loved Vaggie, she truly did. But her lover's refusal to allow her an opportunity alone with Alastor was beginning to grate on her terribly, and she feared she'd soon lose her cool and lash out harshly if something didn't give. And **fast**.

“Vaggie, listen. It's not that I don't want to hang out with you, but I _really_ need to talk to Alastor,” Charlie said on another day, after another instance of Vaggie interrupting and Alastor leaving repeated like some terrible loop.

“Well, that's fine,” Vaggie said with a small chuckle and shrug. “I understand you've got work to do. Let's go talk to him, then.”

“**No!** I – I mean, I need to speak with him alone,” Charlie interjected firmly. Vaggie's eye widened in surprise for a moment before narrowing suspiciously. “Just the two of us – as business partners, you know?”

Vaggie frowned. “Why can't I be there with you? If it's just business, then there's no reason I can't hang around.”

Charlie tilted her head in slight disbelief, raising an eyebrow. “Because I want to talk to him privately, that's all. What are you getting at?”

Vaggie flinched, crossing her arms over her chest as she avoided Charlie's eyes. “I'm not getting at anything, really. I'm just curious why you need privacy with him so badly, if it's just business matters. Why don't you want me around? I'm your girlfriend and partner in every other sense. What are you trying to hide?” she asked sadly.

Charlie's mouth fell open at the implications, horrified. But shock quickly turned to anger at the accusatory barb in Vaggie's voice. “Vaggie, how could you say that? No, how _dare_ you say that? I'm not up to anything bad! Are you seriously sitting here saying you don't trust me to be alone with someone for a few minutes?”

Vaggie immediately shook her head. “Baby, no! It's just – it's _him_ I'm worried about. I don't want you getting – ”

“For the last time, I can take care of myself!” Charlie snapped, rolling her eyes. She clenched her fists for a few seconds before releasing them, pushing down her ire. “Vaggie, please. I don't want to fight with you, but this is getting ridiculous.”

“I just don't see why I can't be there to make sure he doesn't pull any bullshit,” Vaggie went on, pouting. “Is it a crime to want to look after you?”

“No, it's not,” Charlie said in defeat, hugging herself. She knew Vaggie was just trying to protect her, and meant no harm. Hell, she might have just been the only one who truly cared for an supported Charlie – something even her own parents had demonstrably failed to do. Guilt began to bubble to the surface, and any fight she had felt in her rapidly disappeared. “Sorry. Come on, let's go get a snack or something.”

“Sounds good,” Vaggie said with a small smile, looking relieved. “In fact, I bought some of your favorite cookies while out grocery shopping yesterday. I even hid them so no one else got their grubby little hands on them,” she added with a snicker.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Charle conceded, holding Vaggie's hand as they walked toward the kitchen together.

And so this continued, to the point where Charlie began to accurately count down the moment when Vaggie would pop out of nowhere to interrupt her attempt at reconciliation. It was like the moth woman had a sixth sense and knew exactly when and how to put a hard stop to Charlie's attempts. As confident as Charlie was that it was all just wacky, cruel coincidence, she couldn't completely ignore the mounting frustration that built up every time it happened.

In response, Charlie grew desperate to reconnect with Alastor. Even if it meant temporarily – or forcibly – shooing Vaggie away for a moment. If it came down to it, that's simply what she'd have to do.

On a Friday night, Alastor had provided a golden opportunity all on his own: the Hazbin Hotel had reached a milestone of twenty residents, an achievement Charlie hadn't even noticed due to her mind being so preoccupied. He'd walked up to Charlie with a dazzling smile and an impressively large bottle of wine in hand.

“Charlie! There you are!” Alastor greeted excitedly, making her heart flip and flutter at the now unfamiliar sound of her nickname on his lips. The man didn't seem to catch onto the slip, much to her relief. “Not sure if you've realized, but we've reached twenty residents! That's quite the accomplishment!”

“We have? We have!” Charlie gasped, hopping up and down as pride radiated from her. She squealed and held her cheeks, grinning widely. “Oh my gosh, you're right, Al! I hadn't even noticed, with us being so busy! That's fantastic!”

“Isn't it?” Alastor grinned, chuckling as he watched Charlie bounce away in unabashed delight. “I'm very proud of you.”

“Th-Thank you,” Charlie blushed, pausing in her exuberant hopping to compose herself. “I couldn't have done it without your help.”

Alastor's smile widened. “Why, thank you. It wasn't any trouble at all, no need to thank me. And I know it may not seem like that many, but I thought it'd be a good idea for us to have a little celebration of sorts. Just the two of us, as the hard-working collaborators we are,” he continued, shaking the bottle gently with a wink. “I also prepared some delicious snacks we can share up in our office. Do you have some free time tonight?”

Charlie nearly fell over, amazed at the almost unreal opportunity laid in front of her. She felt the urge to pinch herself and make sure this wasn't all some kind of dream. “Of course I do!”

“Splendid!” Alastor beamed in return, and Charlie dared to hope he was just as excited as she was. He turned to lead the way towards their office, humming happily. “Come along, Charlie! I think we've absolutely earned ourselves a long night of fun and fancy free!”

Charlie giggled as she walked beside him, charmed by his classic slang. “You said it! I can hardly believe we've come so far.”

“I hadn't a doubt in my mind,” Alastor said, earning himself an amused smile from the woman next to him. He laughed at her doubtful expression. “Okay, perhaps that's not exactly true. What I mean to say is, I'm not surprised that you've managed to prove me and many others wrong. I always knew you were something special, something wonderfully unpredictable,” he said with soft awe, peering down at her over his crimson monocle.

Charlie's tangled a few of her fingers in her hair shyly. “Wow! Uh, thank you, Al. That means a lot to me. That's really sweet of you to say.”

“And I mean every bit of it, dear,” Alastor said warmly, making Charlie's chest pound at the all too missed term of endearment. “It's not the kind of entertainment I'd hoped for, but I have to admit I'm fascinated by your progress. I can't wait to see where you go from here.”

The pair soon arrived at the large door to their shared office, Alastor snapping his free fingers to unlock the door with his usual specialized magic. Charlie couldn't help lightly clapping her hands in excitement. Call it ironic, but she truly felt the Big Guy had bestowed a small blessing on her today. The only thing that could ruin it was –

“Hey, Charlie! There you are – uh, what's going on?”

Charlie's smile nearly dropped from her face when she heard Vaggie's voice coming from behind them. She turned to see her lover walking over to them, her eyes darting up to Alastor and then down to the wine bottle in his hands. Charlie could practically see her mind going into overdrive.

_No, not this time! Stand up for yourself, Charlie! Vaggie will just have to accept it this time!_

“Hey, Vaggie. Alastor and I have big news: we've hit twenty residents!” Charlie said excitedly, she and Alastor sharing proud grins. Vaggie folded her arms, narrowing her sole eye at the exchange. “Isn't that amazing? Oh, I'm so psyched! We're really doing it, Vaggie!”

Vaggie sighed as she shook her head, making Charlie's smile waver. Alastor noticed and narrowed his red eyes, observing silently.

“Heh...” Charlie winded down awkwardly. “You... don't seem excited. Come on, sweetie, aren't you happy?”

“Of course I am, _princesa!_” Vaggie insisted, holding Charlie's shoulders and giving her a bright smile. “Great job, hun. But I still think it's a bit too early to celebrate. Twenty really isn't that many, considering, and – ”

Charlie's lip trembled and her eyes lost their luster. Granted, it probably wasn't anything _spectacular_ in the grand scheme of things. Fair enough. But it was still a far cry from where they were a few months ago, with Charlie's dreams being in danger of violently crashing and burning before they even had a chance to lift off the ground. Why couldn't Vaggie, who'd been through it all with her, understand that and just be happy for her? Even if just for a moment.

“Look, I know it might not seem that important to you, but it's a big deal for me,” Charlie cut in, placing a hand over her chest for emphasis. Vaggie took a step back, biting her lip. “Why can't you just be happy for me – for the hotel? Can't we just celebrate it coming this far, at least?”

“Yes, of course we can!” Vaggie quickly repled. She sighed, glancing up at Alastor again; he remained suspiciously quiet, only looking from one woman to the other as they spoke. She didn't like that he could see them arguing – not one bit. She gently took Charlie's hand. “In fact, let's go celebrate right now.”

Charlie's eyes widened, not responding. Then, with a sigh of her own, she very gently slid her hand out of Vaggie's. It took everything in her to not crumble at the hurt expression the action elicited. She steeled herself, determined to not lose her nerve.

“That sounds great, but I already have plans tonight,” Charlie said firmly, meeting Vaggie's gaze directly. “Alastor has been working just as hard as I have to get this hotel going, and he offered to celebrate with me first.”

“Then I can join – ”

“_No_, Vaggie,” Charle cut in, anticipating she'd get push-back. She gently took Vaggie's hands in her own, giving them a soft and reassuring squeeze. “We want to hang out one-on-one tonight. And taalk over how far we've come and any plans going forward. Right, Al?” she said, looking hopefully to him for support. To her relief, he nodded his head.

“That's right! With so many hopeful sinners running about, I've come up with a lot of new ideas. I'd love to run some of them by you tonight and get your stamp of approval,” Alastor chimed in merrily. “No reason we can't have a bit of fun while doing so.”

“Exactly,” Charlie agreed, nodding. When Vaggie remained silent, she quickly went on. “Besides, we can celebrate together a little later! No reason we can't have a special date night, right? Oh! Al, could we also have a party for everyone in the hotel sometime?”

“Excellent idea, my dear!” Alastor glowed, nodding his approval. “You and I can think of preparations for that tonight as well. No reason everyone else can't join in on the celebration.”

Charlie seemed to glow in response to Alastor's words. Vaggie felt her blood slowly come to a boil – it was happening all over again, right in front of her eyes. Even with her best efforts, Alastor was easily worming his way back in like a parasite under her skin.

“See? It's no big deal. I'll see you later tonight, okay?” Charlie said, leaning down a bit to kiss her girlfriend's forehead before moving to follow Alastor past the now opened door.

But before Charlie could close the door behind them, Vaggie had swiftly stepped inside after her. Vaggie's heart raced; she had done so from utter instinct, spurned on by a rush of panicked adrenaline Charlie started and nervously glanced over at Alastor, desperately hoping that he wouldn't change his mind or become annoyed with her again. Fortunately, he only regarded Vaggie with an amused raising of an eyebrow before strolling over to the large desk, resting the alcohol on the smooth wooden surface. The princess breathed a sigh of relief before turning back to Vaggie.

“Vaggie, what are you doing?” she asked softly, taking in a deep, steadying breath to calm the frustration building up.

“I want to join in,” Vaggie stated firmly. “I don't like you being alone with him, Charlie. Why are you fighting me on this?”  
  
“Are you fucking serious right now?” Charlie hissed, unable to resist the curse from leaving her lips. She glanced over and caught sight of Alastor sitting patiently on the edge of the wide table, legs crossed as he inspected his claws. “I can't believe you right now. Do you remember our talk a while back? That if I set boundaries with Alastor that _you'd_ finally trust me when I did have to be alone with him? Because _I_ sure do, and you're not keeping up your side of that promise.”

Vaggie looked away and huffed. “Yes, I do remember that. And you don't _have_ to be alone with him drinking and – who knows what else. What if too much goes to your head and you let your guard down?”

“I won't!” Charlie argued, praying Alastor wouldn't overhear their conversation. She lowered her voice, glaring at Vaggie. “I'm a grown woman. Please don't treat me like a child.”

“I'm not! I just don't see why you're being so stubborn,” Vaggie replied, looking back pleadingly. Charlie felt her resolve slip a little as she looked away, rubbing her arm nervously. Damn those puppy eyes – eye. She seemed to know just how to make her crumble. “Charlie, can't I stay? You can have fun with me here too, can't you?”

“I... I...”

_No! Don't you dare cave in! Don't you dare break down. Stand your ground like the princess you're supposed to be! Grow a fucking spine!_

But the fight was rapidly seeping out of Charlie as she looked down at the beseeching, beautiful face of her girlfriend. Self-loathing flooded her senses as she felt herself come to terms with the inevitable.

Suddenly, her vision was filled with red. Charlie stepped back in alarm, wondering if she'd snapped. But she soon recognized the familiar pinstripes of Alastor's outfit, his tall frame having stepped firmly between the two women. She could only stare up at him in amazement as he loomed easily over them, firmly immovable. With his back to Charlie and his expression hidden from her, Alastor's grin stretched uncannily wide and his eyes unnervingly focused as he stared down at the silver-haired girl in front of him. Vaggie stepped back in alarm, the intensity of the stare catching her off-guard.

Decorum be damned, Alastor could not stand even a second more of this. Over the last few weeks, he'd had to tolerate Vaggie doing everything in her power to successfully monopolize Charlie's time, practically rubbing it in his face that he was no longer in control. Like she'd won something over him, rather than the reality of him exercising a rare bit of mercy for Charlie's sake. Vaggie had mistaken his reverence for their princess as weakness, and it was high time he'd reminded her exactly who she was dealing with.

Oh, he'd played nicely, only approaching Charlie when he honestly did need her input regarding the management of the hotel – and resisting every urge to get off-topic and grow closer to her again. He was no idiot: he knew Charlie had been trying hard to reconnect with him ever since that night. But he wanted her to make the first move, to prove that she wanted him – only for this damnable woman to interfere. It'd infuriated him to no end that Charlie could allow this to keep happening, which was the _only_ reason he'd let Vaggie get so far.

Alastor didn't realize he had so much restraint. How else could he explain his refraining from driving his claws into that lonely little buy eye and ripping out whatever he managed to grip from inside the skull of hers?

But now was **his** time to talk with Charlie. This was sacred ground just for the two of them, and he would't tolerate any interruptions. Not without one hell of a fight.

“Yes? Can I help you?” Vaggie said after regaining her courage, folding her arms and glaring up at Alastor. But when his smile grew impossibly wider until his blood-red eyes crinkled, it sent a sharp chill up her spine. Her body instinctively took a step back.

But Alastor only leaned in further, the sharp points of his antlers slowly snaking outward. “Why, yes, you can!” he chuckled, the radio cackle vanishing and laying bare his smooth and eerie voice. His eyes narrowed and his irises shrunk as he stared down at her. “You can help by getting out of our office. Please and thank you, my dear.”

Vaggie's jaw dropped at his words. “W-What? You can't – ”

“I'm afraid that's not a request. No, it's more of a direct order,” Alastor articulated, stepping forward until he was nearly looming over her, like a beast cornering a kill. Vaggie gulped and tried to stand her ground, but her body refused to adhere to this stubbornness and began a slow retreat backwards.

“You can't tell me what to do,” Vaggie growled, her voice wavering and making her curse under her breath as her nerves ignited. “I deserve to be here just as much as you do.”

“My dear!! Is that what you really think?” Alastor threw his head back in boisterous laughter, needle-sharp teeth flashing in the soft light. He sounded genuinely amused, which only served to piss her off more. “Goodness, I had no idea you could ever make me laugh like that! I suppose even you have a few surprises underneath all that outrageous head of hair,” Alastor said as he wiped a tear from his eye. Instantly, his threatening demeanor returned as he continued to back Vaggie towards the door. “Ms. Vaggie, do remind me: are you Charlie's official business partner?”

Vaggie glanced over at Charlie, who could only look on in stunned, uncertain silence. “I-I'm her girlfriend – ”

“Yes, a partner in that sense,” Alastor sneered with a roll of his eyes. “But are you a business partner? Do I need to enlighten you on what kind of relationship that is? Shame, I thought you were smarter than that!”  
  
“I know exactly what that is, you bastard!” Vaggie snarled.

“Terrific! Then you should have no trouble understanding that this is a party for **business partners** only,” Alastor said smoothly, flexing his claws in a seemingly casual way. But the moth could tell it was a threat. “And since you aren't one, you are not invited.”

“I help with the running of this hotel just as much as you – ”

“Yet you're not co-owner!” Alastor countered, continuing his advance. Vaggie nearly stumbled as she struggled to keep a safe distance from him. “Ms. Vaggie, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You can either leave by your own volition, or you can be thrown out. It matters little to me which one you choose. You do not own any kind of official ownership of this fine establishment, your name is not needed on any of the important documentation, and you don't even pull a _fraction_ of the hard work our dearest Charlie has to do to keep this hotel running smoothly.”

Vaggie could only gawk at Alastor as he unleashed his ruthless tirade onto her, his eyes burning straight into hers as she backed away. Before she knew it, she found herself back in the hallway, Alastor peering down at her as he stood in the doorway. His sinister expression gave way to one of pleasant surprise as he made a show of noticing their new placement.

“Why, would you look at that! It looks like you found the exit all on your own. See, I knew you were a smart girl after all. Splendid work, my dear!” Alastor praised, gently patting Vaggie on top of the head. “Now, behave like the good little dog you are and wait patiently for Charlie. You can even stay at the door, if you like!”

“Y-You son of a bitch!” Vaggie fumed, cheeks bright red at the realization he'd so easily intimidated her and snatched control of the situation. She looked past him at the frozen form of Charlie. “Charlie – ”

“Thank you so much for your understanding. You'll be the first to know when Charlie is finished so you can resume your attempts at gluing yourself to her hip,” Alastor said pleasantly before nearly slamming the door against the woman's nose. He immediately locked the door and secretly put a soundproofing spell on the inside and outside of the room, chuckling as he heard the enraged cursing of the woman on the other side before it took affect

Oh, victory was so much sweeter than he'd remembered. Alastor hoped Vaggie had savored, because it'd be the last time she got a taste of it.


	10. Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY it took forever to update, but I want to thank every single one of you for your patience, kindness, and understanding as I was on writing hiatus. It's greatly appreciated how supportive you all are, and I'm happy to say that the next several chapters are already drafted and just need to be cleaned up, so future chapters will be rolled out more regularly until completion.
> 
> Truthfully, this was going to just be one big mega-chapter, but my boyfriend (who is a huge help in helping me write and clean up) suggested I split this one up a bit. So, to make up for the shorter than usual update, expect another chapter very soon to make up for that!
> 
> Oh, and I've taken the chance to go back to previous chapters and fix any mistakes, so hopefully there aren't nearly as many grammatical/spelling mistakes. ;0;

Reveling in his victory, Alastor turned to finally enjoy some time with Charlie – and was hit by cold dread crashing down on him like a tidal wave. The intense feeling of having made a grave mistake flooded his senses, and he froze.

It definitely wasn't born from remorse. No, Alastor's decision to sharply intervene and put that meddlesome woman in her place was long overdue. Nevertheless, the feeling persisted. Worried, he took a few steps closer to her, anticipating her displeasure – or even anger – at him having rudely forced her lover out without her permission.

_Dammit, I've done it now_, Alastor thought with alarm as he looked down at the worryingly silent woman before him, her frame turned away so he couldn't read her expression. The horrible possibility that she bristled at his interference and would end up deciding to put up more walls drove him into a small panic. When she looked up suddenly and their eyes met, Charlie jumped a little before looking back down at her fidgeting hands.

“Charlie,” Alastor reached out, gently gripping her shoulder in his clawed hand. He didn't move to turn her, partly out of respect and partly out of fear of her looking up at him with anger in those big doe eyes. “It wasn't my place to do that. My sincerest apologies. If you want, I'll go out and apolo – clear the air,” Alastor quickly caught himself. There was no way in Hell he was going to apologize – in fact, he'd do it all over again if given the chance. It would have been a bold-faced lie to promise Charlie that. “I know that's going to be a headache and a half for you, once you leave this office. And the last thing I want to do is cause you trouble, sweetheart.”

Charlie startled him a little by suddenly turning to face him and he winced, bracing for a tirade. While he'd never seen her as anything but sweet and kind, he never let the fact that she was the Princess of Hell slip his mind.

But instead, he saw... relief. Charlie looked as if she'd been mercifully relieved of an immense weight. She breathed out slowly, her previously tense posture relaxing rapidly. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Charlie smiled up at Alastor gratefully.

“No, Alastor. I know it might sound crazy for me to say this, but thank you,” Charlie said softly, looking down guiltily. She supposed she should have been angry, but all she could feel was intense gratitude for the man beside her. “I really needed help, and there you were. Seriously, thank you so much for stepping in.”

“Y-You're welcome,” Alastor reeled back a little, caught off-guard. His eyes soon softened as he watched her shift from side to side, clearly troubled. “But are you sure it was okay for me to do that? I know you wanted me to be more professional, and I fear I may have violated that simple request. I'm sorry.”

“Al, no! Please don't apologize! I – I'm glad you were here. If you hadn't stepped in, Vaggie would have definitely talked her way into staying,” she admitted with shame, cheeks burning as she recalled how adamant Vaggie had been. “I'm such a pushover. If anything, I should apologize for you having to swoop in and save me like that. I should be able to handle at least something like that on my own. How can I expect to help anyone else when I can't even handle my own relationships? I can't be weak like that.”

She hated how, when it came to certain people – people she loved... she was completely powerless. She was the princess of Hell, daughter of the literal Devil, and yet she couldn't even speak up to her own girlfriend when it mattered most. It was pathetic on its own, but the fact that Alastor had seen how easily Charlie was broken down with just a pleading tone and puppy-dog eyes? Humiliating didn't even _begin_ to describe it.

_He's an overlord, and he saw how quickly I caved in back there,_ Charlie thought, scowling in disgust at herself. _He's probably laughing at me right now, or worse, pitying me... and who could blame him?_

Suddenly, she felt a warm yet firm pressure on her face. Charlie looked up and nearly lost the energy in her legs at the realization that he'd taken her face in one elegant hand; his grip was amazingly gentle, avoiding causing any pain or damage as he lightly tilted her chin up, his fingertips softly squishing her cheeks, flushing pink. His warm eyes looked into her own with a tenderness she hadn't seen in a long time – possibly ever. Charlie couldn't help but feel herself get lost in them as he leaned down and closed the distance, making her heart kick into overdrive and her body tingle. A flurry of different thoughts overwhelmed her as she could do nothing but peer up at the man who had her hypnotized where she stood.

“Charlie.”

“Yes!” Charlie squeaked, jumping a little as his voice cut through the mental storm.

“You are not weak. Do you think I'd be so eager to partner up with anyone I thought of that way?” Alastor chuckled, shaking his head a little at the silly idea. “No, my dear. You are much stronger than you realize, trust me. It's because you care so deeply for your loved ones that you go so far out of your way to keep them happy.” His eyes softened further into a fond smile. “I've seen you run yourself to near-exhaustion for the sole benefit of everyone else, no matter how many times you're harassed, ridiculed, or even threatened. Charlie, you are one of the strongest people I have ever met in my life and afterlife. It's one of the many things I adore about you.”

Charlie couldn't help but sit there in stunned silence at these kind words, doubting her face could get any redder. Her heart was pounding in her chest to a point where she started to wonder if he could hear it. Alastor's grin widened when she started to stutter a bit, releasing her and standing up straight again. He then gently poked her nose and winked, making the poor girl blush harder.

“Y-You're teasing me!” Charlie blurted out, quickly turning away from him. She knew he wasn't, though, and that made the situation so much more difficult for her to handle. The sincerity in his voice and actions had her struggling to compose herself. Her face hidden from his intent stare, she tried to rub the blush burned into her cheeks away, to will the pace of her heart to slow, to command the fluttering in her stomach to stop. “Come on, Al, that's not nice! I was being serious!”

Alastor chuckled in delight at her bashful reaction, watching her walk towards the large desk, his usual jovial tone returning. “And so was I! I'm wounded that you think I wasn't being genuine with you, dear. And here I thought you trusted me just a little bit,” he said dramatically, clicking his tongue while shaking his head. “Lucky for you that I'm a masochist, or I'd be highly offended!”

To his pleasure, this got a lovely laugh out of Charlie as she sat on the edge of the desk and began lightly swinging her legs. She looked back and smiled brightly, and it was like warm sunshine after months of bitter cold. He felt himself literally drawn to her, walking over to join her, leaning against the desk at her side.

“You're right, I know you were being real with me just now. It's just that I didn't expect that because – Alastor, that's one of the sweetest things anyone's said to me. I-I don't know what to say, except thank you so much,” she replied softly, unable to resist looking away shyly. “I wish I was more like you. You know when enough is enough and how to stand your ground. I've never been good at that.”

Staying close, Alastor maneuvered past her to settle in the chair, leaning back and folding his hands in his lap as he crossed his legs. He looked over at the woman in front of him, intrigued at her admission.

“More like me? Goodness! I've never heard anyone say something like that before!” he laughed, truly tickled. “My sweet girl, you do not want to be like me. I'm sure anyone would agree that I'm one of the last people you should ever model yourself after. Unless you're into serial killing or cannibalism...” he eyed her at this, making her blush again at the flirtatious way he looked her over. “Well, then I'd be a bit hurt you didn't invite me! That's truly a bonding experience!”

Charlie laughed, rolling her eyes. “Oh, you're just being modest. I mean, sure: maybe I wouldn't have gotten Vaggie to leave in that **exact** way,” she admitted with amusement, grinning when Alastor batted his eyes innocently. “But when you want things a certain way, you let it be known and stick by it. You won't let anyone talk over you or make you back down. I really respect that – respect you – a lot.”

Alastor felt his ears twitch wildly at the unabashed praise, glad that he'd perfected the art of the unwavering smile. He studied Charlie closely, taking the time to truly appreciation how much stress and pain the youthful princess endured on a daily basis. Empathy was a fresh, foreign feeling for Alastor. It was only recently that he realized his usual cruelty and sadism wouldn't work here, lest he end up ripping apart himself in the process. Caring for another – outside of his mother – was something Alastor had long ago decided wasn't a priority for him. It was only now that his heart really went out to her; Charlie was basically disowned by her parents: their rejection of her dream and their refusal to so much as call – much less visit – their daughter must have been a devastating blow. Without familial or financial support, she'd been cast into the cruelest world imaginable and had to learn to swim desperately lest she drown and be devoured by the sharks all around them. And before Alastor came to offer his assistance, her only friends were an overprotective moth and a drug-addicted whore of a spider.

Alastor realized that Charlie's youthful nature and endearing innocence made it easy for him to forget that she was in actuality several times his age. Whereas he had been damned by his actions in the mortal realm, Charlie had been born in and only ever known Hell. She'd been through much more suffering than he'd ever been unfortunate enough to experience. Those tired eyes she tried her best to conceal, the melancholy smile... she was a woman who dealt with so much, but always tried to mask it in an attempt to not burden the few people still at her side. It was enough to break his heart, what little there may be of it left. The resentment he'd clung to was rapidly melting away, that damn empathy finally winning out.

He decided she had suffered enough. Or at least, he wouldn't allow himself to be another thing to worry about. Alastor had resolved that she was his, and he would protect her as such.


	11. Mending Fences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, as promised!
> 
> If there's anything I can give you regarding future updates, it's that (1) they'll be regular and more common, and (2) IT IS ABOUT TO GET JUICY.

“And I can't believe Vaggie tried to argue when I asked for her to leave,” Charlie suddenly confessed, effectively snapping Alastor out of his musings.

A pang of guilt hit her, wondering if it was appropriate for her to vent about her romantic relationship. But she couldn't unload her feelings on the matter with Vaggie and Angel Dust – not without some backlash.

“Sorry, I should just drop it. This is supposed to be a party, and here I am going on and on about girlfriend troubles,” Charlie giggled nervously.

“We've got plenty of time to celebrate, Charlie,” Alastor said soothingly, leaning forward on his arms so that they were a little closer. _I made sure of that,_ he thought with a dark chuckle. “Please, feel free to vent a little. You can't really have fun with something on your mind.”

Despite all evidence to the contrary, she found Alastor's presence calming, like she could tell him anything and he'd happily listen to it all. He was dependable and mature when she needed him to be. Taking a deep breath, she continued her confession.

“When she asks me to be more – more professional, I asked her to trust me more when you and I are alone together. Even when it got really tough to keep my promise, I did it. Because I love Vaggie and want her to feel comfortable. But the one time I ask her to show that for me, she refused. Beyond it just being totally unfair – it hurt,” she said angrily under her breath, scowling. Her fingernails dug into the wood of the desk as anger welled up, and a peak of her horns could be spotted as she blew off a little steam. These features soon disappeared as she breathed out again. “I know she means well, and is just doing what she can to look after me. I don't know, maybe I'm being ungrateful. I probably sound like a brat, going on and on about someone bothering to care, like it's a bad thing.”

“Not at all, sweetheart. I'm happy to be your listening ear,” Alastor quickly assured her. He reached over and took her hands in his, giving them a squeeze and chuckling at her soft squeak. “It sounds like you had a lot on your chest, poor thing. There's no need to worry about this getting back to Vaggie. Anything you tell to me will always be held in confidence, rest assured. Besides, I don't know if you've noticed, but your lady and I aren't exactly best friends. Shocking news, I know!” he chuckled, making Charlie giggle as well. He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Speaking of which, I have something I need to get off my chest too. A talk is needed, I think.”

“A-A talk?” Charlie stuttered, the very idea of one of those bringing on a wave of anxiety. She tried to hide her nervousness with a shaky smile. “I mean, sure! Talks are good!”

Alastor threw his head back in genuine laughter. He was nearly breathless from amusement, holding up his free hand as he stood up from his chair. “Oh, not to worry, dear! It's not quite _that_ kind of talk,” he smirked,. “No, no, it's alright. You've had quite enough of those conversations lately, hm?”

Charlie placed a hand over her heart as she breathed a sigh of relief, smiling back. “Oh, don't get me started.”

The two of them snickered in unison, toothy grins on full display. After recovering, Alastor uncorked the first bottle he'd prepared for that evening and snapped his fingers. The single chair that sat on the opposite side of their large work desk was instantly exchanged for a spacious and comfortable crimson lounge seat, easily accommodating two people. He snapped again and a few of his loyal shadow minions procured two wine glasses, smiling in their ghoulish little way at Charlie before disappearing in a puff of dark blue smoke again. Alastor eased into the comfortable seat and pat the space beside him, Charlie eagerly joining to him with her glass in hand.

“Now, I don't want to overstep my boundaries,” Alastor started, gently filling Charlie's glass with the bubbly champagne. He stopped just before the contents reached the rim, his partner smiling thankfully before taking an experimental sip.

“You can talk to me about anything, Al!” Charlie assured him warmly, giving him a confident smile. “Please, I'd love to hear what's on your mind too.”

Alastor smiled back, filling his own glass and taking a gulp of it to ease his nerves. “Well, if I'm totally honest, I think you'd do well to assert yourself more often. I know I don't know you terribly well and that we're merely business partners, but I – I still care for you, dear. I care deeply, even.”

Charlie paused in her sipping, visibly stunned. Alastor paused too for a moment, eyes widening in realization as his own words sunk in.

“Generally speaking – as much as someone like me can,” he quickly corrected, clearing his throat. “It's because I do care that I can't sit by and watch you get taken advantage of. I know Ms. Vaggie is very important to you, but she also needs to respect the boundaries you set. You've gone above and beyond, it's only fair for her to do the same. There's got to be a line drawn somewhere, if you hope to have any freedom at all.”

Charlie grew silent, her expression unreadable as she circled the rim of her glass with a delicate finger. Alastor winced, wanting to smack himself for rambling on thoughtlessly. It was times like these where he wished Husk was nearby to coach him along, as he had no idea how to navigate being a caring person – much less properly handle a woman's unique perspective. While he was simply being honest, he felt totally out of his element.

“Ah. Do feel free to take my words with a grain of salt. Or several!” Alastor hastened, laughing airily in an attempt to mask his own nervousness. “I'll be the first to admit that romantic relationships are something beyond my understanding. Romance is a complicated thing, I'm sure, and I'm probably simplifying it. Please pardon me, dear.”

“No. No, you're absolutely right.”

Alastor looked up again, surprised. Charlie shook her head and smiled up at him, taking another small gulp of her wine.

“Everything you said was right. I do need to learn to assert myself better. Even if everyone ignores it most of the time, I'm a princess. I need to act more like it sometimes,” Charlie admitted, leaning her head back on the cushion behind her. “It's just... so hard to say 'no' to someone you care about – or love. When you backed me up, it was like I could finally breathe again,” she admitted, sitting up again and looking him in the eyes. “I can't promise I won't stumble like that again, but I will definitely try and do better. I promise.”

Alastor smiled down at her admiringly, nodding. “That's all I can ask of you. I think you could definitely show some true hellfire, if you wanted to. It suits you, my dear. Don't be afraid of it,” he said, taking her hand again to squeeze gently. Warm tingles shot through their bodies at the contact after so long, like they were learning each other's presence all over again. The pair made no move to disrupt it, instinctively knowing that the other had missed it just as much. “And you can count on me to be right here to back you up if you struggle. I'll just be sure to ask first before throwing them out the door,” he added with a devilish grin.

Charlie laughed, giving him a mock accusatory look. “Yeah, please do! Thanks, Al.”

“Of course, Charlie!” Alastor beamed, holding his free hand up in preparation for another snap of his fingers. “Golly, it's gotten so serious. Let's start this party up, shall –“

Alastor was cut short as he felt Charlie take both of his hands in her smaller ones, squeezing them softly. He looked down curiously and felt his heart nearly leap out of his chest at how intently she was looking at him. It left him uncharacteristically flustered, feeling his face grow hot and his ears twitch. This obvious reaction seemed to affect Charlie as well and she felt herself blush in turn; though she successfully kept her nerves as she inhaled deeply.

“Al, if it's not too late, I want to apologize,” Charlie said.

Even with how wound up she'd gotten him, Alastor couldn't help but tease his love a little. He cocked his head to the side, lidded eyes looking at her – he hoped the wiggling ears didn't distract too much. “Oh? Whatever for?”

Charlie gulped and tried not to avert her eyes, pouting at his teasing. “Back when I tried to set boundaries. When I said that that we were business partners and nothing more. I didn't mean that – not at all,” she said, remorse and regret clear on her soft features. “Al, you're my friend – a really great friend. I love talking and spending time with you. Not being able to do that with you these past few weeks had been horrible. I'm really sorry I said that, and I hope we can start over. Yes, we're business partners, but you're also one of my closest friends. There's no reason we can't be both, right?” She blinked “I mean, if you want to! N-Not that I'd blame you if you'd rather keep things like this,” she added hurriedly, afraid she was babbling now.

For a moment, Alastor was rendered completely speechless and he felt his breathing cut short. With this unabashed outpouring of love, his poor overstimulated brain mistook it all for a love confession for a few seconds – and nearly had an aneurysm trying to work out what to say or do. Disgustingly sweet words threatened to leave his mouth and he was forced to bite his tongue to the point of bleeding. All the while shocked at how Charlie seemed to inspire all of this with no effort at all.

Sweet Lucifer, he was _this_ close to blurting out something humiliatingly revealing! What this woman did to him was sheer **madness**.

Despite this, Alastor felt himself melt, like all of the stress that had been painfully building up over the last several days was instantly, gracefully melted away by Charlie's words. It was dizzying, the amount of relief and joy that came with her sincere apology and affirmation that she considered him so much more than a mere benefactor. A part of him supposed he should blanch at the fact that he sought her love and approval so badly, but he honestly couldn't give less of a damn in that moment.

All that mattered was that she cared for him and wanted to go back to the way things were. That alone meant the world to Alastor.

Lacing his long fingers carefully with the soft ones pressed against them, his default grin softened into a touched and relived smile as he looked lovingly down at Charlie, who offered up an equally brilliant smile at his reciprocation.

“Thank you, Charlie. Truth be told, I knew that you had misspoke and didn't mean that. But I am so glad that you apologized... Being without your company had truly been – difficult,” Alastor chuckled – a warm one that made the fluttering in Charlie's tummy intensify. “Of course I forgive you, my dear.”

Charlie felt herself tear up and quickly swiped at her eyes, a little embarrassed. “S-Sorry! I'm such a baby sometimes. I'm just really happy.”

Alastor couldn't help but beam brightly as they basked in the mutual bliss. He gently cupped Charlie's face and adorable cheeks, chuckling. “No need to apologize any more, dearest. Let's get started on our party, as friends and business partners, hm?”

“Absolutely!” Charlie smiled, gently placing her hands over his as he practically gushed over her. “Let's party, Al!”

With that, Alastor summoned his minions and requested for them to bring out several impressive trays of warm food he'd prepared not long before inviting Charlie, her eyes twinkling at the delicious assortment of home-cooked meals and snacks. After filling their plates and refreshing their drinks, the pair quickly eased into a cozy atmosphere as they started going over the current success of the hotel and where to go moving forward.

While it was only the beginning, the fact that they'd already accepted twenty residents was truly a milestone. And with the bit of progress they made with each tenant, there was promise of them being on the way to redemption – or at least clear betterment. To Charlie's glee, her natural charisma and genuine kindness, combined with Alastor's no-nonsense approach to anyone breaking his rather lenient rules and bringing in more help, went a long way in getting the newcomers to behave more and open up to them regarding the root of their issues.

“These hopeless fools have been doing much better than I thought. It's because of all the unexpected level of progress that I thought it'd be a good idea to look into adding some renovations. Specifically, some recreational areas or workshops – to entice them to stay closer to home and invest their time into more productive things.”

“That's an amazing idea!” Charlie smiled, thanking him as he refilled her glass before happily biting into a cupcake so delicious she was certain he'd made it specially for her. She couldn't help but giggle at the adorable little devil horn decorations softly resting atop it. “Oh! And it'll go a long way in helping them feel less restricted. We want them to actually _want_ to be here, rather than them having no other alternative.”

“Precisely! Just what I was thinking,” Alastor agreed, nodding his approval and impressed with how forward-thinking she was. “You're a very sharp one, Charlie. I'm glad to know I have such a savvy partner to work with,” he spoke casually, reaching over onto a platter more suited to his tastes and forking a piece of raw meet to enjoy. “And here you were worried that I didn't genuinely love working with you! How silly, dearest.”

Charlie's heart leapt at the newest nickname. Perhaps it wasn't new, per say – Alastor often called her “dear”, and she'd never admit to how much she loved it. But since they had reconciled and relaxed together again after so long, she couldn't help but zero in on the advanced “dearest”. She mentally kicked herself for reading into it – it didn't mean anything, it's just another general term of endearment! It must have been the high-quality wine getting to her head, is all.

“Y-Yeah! Silly me,” Charlie cleared her throat gently, nibbling some more at her treat to hide her blush. “Would it be a good idea to discuss this with the others? They could have some really good ideas. We're a team, after all!”

Alastor made a show of mulling it over before rolling his eyes. “Yes, I suppose we should. I have a funny suspicion that 'strip club' is going to pop up, but I don't see the harm in getting more people into the general idea.”

“Hey! Angel Dust might just surprise us with a cooking class or something!” Charlie laughed, looking up at him with intentionally innocent eyes. “You never know!”

“No he won't, because a cooking class is _my_ idea!” Alastor declared, causing them both to laugh.

The pair continued enjoying their little party, Alastor setting his radio companion comfortably on the side of the desk and allowing some lovely party music to play as they talked about any and everything, happy to properly catch up. The mix of good food, drink, music and company loosened them up considerably; Alastor had removed his usual overcoat to reveal his more simple undershirt, leaning back and letting Charlie rest against him somewhat as they sat back and continued their lively conversation. It was like a special haven just for them, and it was sorely needed after so much time apart.

Somehow, some way, Charlie found herself being serenaded after they'd enjoyed a few more rounds of drinks. She wasn't drunk – no. Just happily mellow as she looked up into those warm, softly glowing eyes and handsome features. That said, she was more than willing to blame it on the bubbly beverage. To use it as an excuse for why she was leaning into Alastor a bit closer than may have been strictly necessary, for why she couldn't pull herself away as he gently held her chin in his hand as he sang along to a favorite jazzy number currently playing on his radio. Charlie couldn't recall anyone having such an easy sway over her, his distinct voice and warm presence casting a dreamy haze and making it hard for her to focus on anything but him.

“You sing so beautifully, Al,” Charlie found herself almost purring, unable to look away from him as he smiled at her compliment. “I had no idea you liked these more romantic songs.”

“I don't. Well, not until recently,” Alastor drawled, giving her cheeks a soft squeeze and making her giggle.

“Oh? Is there someone you're crushing on?” Charlie couldn't help but ask in a teasing tone. “Oh, tell me, tell me!”

Alastor's eyes widened and he froze. Charlie started a bit when he seemed to cease functioning, only looking down at her wordlessly while still keeping his soft grip on her. His expression was completely undecipherable, and Charlie wondered if she had said something truly crazy. But he then laughed – a somewhat forced one as his eyes moved from the woman in front of him to settle on practically anything else in the room.

“Oh, you caught me off guard there! I'm hardly the type for that,” Alastor said, releasing her. Charlie couldn't help but pout as he leaned back again, though still close. “Someone like me wouldn't know a thing about that sort of nonsense.”

“Aw, don't say that! You're probably a big softie, deep down. Waaaay deep down. **Extremely** deep down,” Charlie laughed, hugging Alastor's arm when he gave her an amused look. She caught herself, glancing up at him nervously. “Hey, Al?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Alastor replied, resting his chin gently on the top of her soft hair and closing his eyes.

“I'm having so much fun with you... I don't really want it to end. Is that weird to say?”

Alastor prayed she didn't feel his heart practically leaping out of his chest. This girl was liable to give him a heart attack one of these days. He quickly composed himself and somehow managed to keep his tone even.

“Not at all, Charlie! I feel the same way,” he said as smoothly as he could, but his ears were practically a red and black blur as they wiggled about at her words and closeness.

“Oh, good! Then... um...” Charlie inhaled deeply and took another gulp from her glass, willing the liquid courage to hit her just right. She couldn't pinpoint why, but her nerves were aflame. “I-I know we can't let up just because we hit a milestone, but would you happen to be free tomorrow evening? I'd love some more one-on-one time with you – to discuss plans further!” she hastily added. She heard and felt Alastor chuckle against her. “If it's not too much trouble, maybe we could – ”

But before Charlie could finish her offer, a ring cut through the serenity and jolted them both upright. A puff of crimson smoke materialized an old-fashioned blood-red phone, magically afloat as the receiver lightly shook. Charlie tilted her head curiousl and Alastor growled softly in frustration at the interruption.

“My apologies: that's my special work phone. Reserved for important business-related contacts,” he muttered making a mental note to check the logs later and send a special little “gift” to whoever decided to bother him now of all times. “Not to worry, I can always call them back later.”

“Oh, it's okay! I don't mind if you have to take a call,” Charlie assured him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Besides, it could be important.”

Alastor sighed and stood up, taking a moment to stretch out. “Yes, you're right. Please excuse me for a moment.”

He walked over to the incessantly ringing phone and quickly took it off the base. Even someone as secluded as he had decided long ago to keep some exclusive connections on-hand for various reasons. Mostly, it was to keep contact with the rare allied overlord, though he enjoyed catching up with the very few friends he'd made during his tirades. But since taking on his partnership with Charlie, he decided to expand his line for sponsors and potential partners. While his business sense knew it would be unwise to ignore a call on this line, every other part of him wanted to curse whoever was on the other line out for pulling him away from his companion.

“Alastor speaking,” he greeted, forcing politeness into his voice. “How can I help you?”

Charlie stood up, realizing it could be rude for her to listen in on the conversation. But Alastor turned and gestured for her to relax, giving her a kind smile and wink. He excused himself briefly from the person on the line and whispered, “You're my partner, dear. I don't mind you staying and listening, if you like.”

“Okay! Thanks, Al,” Charlie smiled back as she sat back down, nibbling on a sandwich patiently as he returned to his call.

“Sorry about that. Now – Oh! Oh, Rosie, my dear! It's great to hear from you! It's been far too long!”

Charlie looked on in a mix of surprise and curiosity as Alastor's face brightened and his demeanor perk up in response to the woman on the other end. He happily spoke with this “Rosie”, and Charlie felt a weird stir at the frequency of “dear” throughout the conversation. Disturbed at this reaction, Charlie shook her head and checked herself. Why was she suddenly in a bad mood?

“That's very kind and generous of you, my dear. Uncharacteristically so!” Alastor paused for a moment before laughing merrily. “We're too alike for me not to see right through you, old friend. But all teasing aside, you have my deepest gratitude. Yes, that'll be just fine. See you soon!”

Alastor carefully hung up the phone and turned back to Charlie, the phone soon disappearing again. She sat up and blushed a little, still trying to make sense of her sudden mood swing.

“Please pardon me, Charlie. That was a dear old friend who called. A very powerful fellow overlord,” he explained, picking up a small notepad and jotting something down. “She's expressed some interest in this fine establishment and would like to pay us a visit.”

“Really? That's great news!” Charlie beamed, standing up and clapping her hands in excitement. “Alastor, you're amazing!”

“Why, yes, I am! But please, do go on,” Alastor laughed. He walked over and gently took both of her hands in his own, looking down at her tenderly. When his eyes lidded softly, Charlie swore time slowed to a crawl as she focused solely on him. “It was lovely spending the whole evening with you, Charlie.”

“Yeah! Same here!” Charlie quickly replied. “We really should do it again sometime soon.”

“Agreed. Now, I do apologize, but I think we need to end our little party prematurely,” Alastor said with obvious reluctance. He snapped his fingers and the majority of their food and drink disappeared. He picked up an as yet unopened bottle of wine and followed Charlie as she made her way towards the office door. “With Rosie's arrival, I want to do a thorough check-up around the hotel to make sure everything is up to par. She's a very particular woman, but if we play our cards right, she could be a huge asset.”

“That's alright! I completely understand,” Charlie reassured him, waving a casual hand. “Please let me know if you need any help! I hate that you do so much and I'm so out of my element.”

“You're doing just fine!” Alastor grinned, gently placing the bottle in her arms. “Fear not! I'll be sure to consult you if I need your assistance. Now, I've had all of the food I prepared tonight put up, and seen to it that your favorites will be delivered to your bedroom if you'd like any more. Oh! And, please, feel free to enjoy this bottle with Ms. Vaggie sometime,” he added with a wink.

Charlie smiled, hugging the gift to her chest. “You're the best. Goodnight, Al!”

“Goodnight, Charlie.”


	12. Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay, guys! I meant to update a tad sooner, but work training kinda drains me and I'm out like a light afterward.
> 
> But this is another bigger chapter to make up for it, now that the ball's really in motion for this story. //rubs hands together evilly//

Vaggie stared down at her throbbing knuckles, tenderly rubbing the slightly bruised skin when soft bleating from nearby broke through her turbulent thoughts, causing her to glance up. Razzle and Dazzle were looking at her with deep uncertainty, teetering between wanting to rush to her side to comfort her, or begin repairs on the newly-formed holes in the walls. She winced as she watched some of the plaster chip and fall away from the craters she'd left behind from her blind fury. If circumstances were different, she'd have been quite impressed by her own strength.

Where was all this fire when Alastor forced you away? Why didn't you send one of these punches right into that smug fucking face of his when he backed you out of that office?

Vaggie scowled and barely restrained herself from letting off another powerful punch on anything not named Razzle or Dazzle. Instead, she drew in a deep breath and opted to run her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth it down and soothe the painful pulsing in her chest.

“Maldita sea, it's going to take a small fortune to fix all this,” Vaggie grumbled, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple as a headache born from regret began to stir.

Charlie was bound to ask questions the minute she stepped inside Vaggie's bedroom, but she was no idiot – she would know exactly why. She'd better know why.

Vaggie could only recall a few times in her life where she'd suffered so much humiliation and hurt. Scenes kept replaying in her mind like a twisted nightmare: Alastor intervening and immediately forcing Vaggie into a shameful retreat as he wrenched control from her with frightening ease. Waves of dread sent shivers throughout her entire body as she recalled how his eyes bore mercilessly into her own, never breaking contact as he unleashed his barely-restrained hatred. The Radio Demon's blatant cruelty had Vaggie her like a wall of flame, rendering her nearly speechless and desperate to get away from him before he – she could barely fathom what he was capable of in that state.

Overlords, she realized, were on another level – an entirely different kind of monster.

Vaggie hadn't been in Hell terribly long, but she'd gotten used to more than her fair share of creeps, assholes, and overall scum throughout her tragically brief lifespan. So when she found herself reborn into the eternal hellhole, it'd been rather easy to quickly adapt to its demonic population and defend herself. When she began dating Charlie, she'd yet to see what made her parents so deeply revered and feared; they were at least cordial towards her even in their worst moments. However, there had always been an underlying current of clear danger in the air during the few times she was around them, and she could never put her finger on why she felt so uncomfortable.

But Alastor didn't hold back tonight, throwing all etiquette and civility to the wind as he confirmed a mutual, deep loathing. When Vaggie looked up at his advancing form, unfiltered murderous intent was palpable in his monstrous expression, the air in the room seeming to fill with a poisonous static that hurt to inhale. Her blood had run cold as her mind grew consumed with the undeniable instinct to flee from a beast set on tearing her to bloody shreds.

It was in those terrifying moments that Vaggie realized she'd made the grave error of underestimating Alastor. With a few glorious weeks of having successfully monopolized Charlie's free time, she'd gotten complacent, too comfortable. She assumed she had won, that her worries were over.

Alastor dealt a harsh reminder that her attempting to handle him so directly was a deadly mistake – a mistake Vaggie doubted she'd escape unscathed a second time.

As much as this realization disturbed Vaggie, it was nothing compared to the feeling of absolute betrayal when she looked to Charlie for help – only to be met with her decidedly averting her gaze. Letting Alastor take control. The world seemed to fall apart as Vaggie realized her lover had stood by and let it all happen. As pissed off as she was, it was rejection that nearly sent her into a complete meltdown once she returned to her room. Frankly, it was a wonder she hadn't rendered the entire room to a pile of ash and rubble.

How could she let him do that to me? Let him humiliate me? Let him win? How could she choose him... Over me...?

The corners of her eyes began to sting and it took her a moment to realize that tears were starting to well up. Vaggie hadn't cried in a very long time – not since she was a small child – and she refused to shed them now. She swiped angrily at the tears that threatened to fall, her chest constricting as more gathered in their place. Much more than just an injured pride, her heart couldn't take the fact that Charlie hadn't stood by her. Was that creepy bastard so important to her? Why??

Before Vaggie could lose herself to another round of self pity, a soft pang of guilt struck her in the gut. She dismissed it, but it only hit harder the more she tried to stay in denial. She let out another frustrated sigh as she sat down on the edge of her bed, resting her head in her palms as the painful beginnings of a headache began to flare up again.

Could...

Could it be that she'd been the one in the wrong? As much as the idea made rendered her physically ill, she knew it to be true. As much as she desperately wished it so, Charlie hadn't agreed to cut off ties with Alastor. Behave a bit more professionally? Sure. Make sure to spend more time with Vaggie and not let him cut in on that? Of course. But Charlie had drawn the line at not being his friend.

In truth, Charlie had been more than generous and accommodating with Vaggie's request. The two of them were spending plenty of quality time together lately, and Alastor wasn't shoving her aside or rudely inserting himself between them mid-conversation since Charlie had talked him down. But Vaggie had pushed for more, hoping to tip the scales in her favor enough where Alastor would eventually become a distant memory. She certainly hadn't respected Charlie's condition of laying off whenever she did want to hang out with Alastor, that much was obvious.

With deep shame, Vaggie had to admit that she hadn't honored Charlie's wishes at all, so consumed as she was by her desire to have things go back to normal – back when it was just them against the world, and little else mattered. Before Alastor had decided to complicate the only safe haven left for Vaggie. Could it be that her trying to preserve that small sanctuary led to her being too controlling? Even... Manipulative?

Vaggie bit her lip as she stared down at her crossed arms and legs. Self-awareness was steadily chipping away at her, threatening to lay bear some troubling underlying insecurities she wasn't ready to confront. But she was nothing if not stubborn.

Two pairs of smooth hooves rested softly against her knee and Vaggie looked down to meet the large eyes of Razzle and Dazzle. They looked up at her with worry, tails swishing restlessly from side to side. She forced a smile and pet the pair, thankful for their company. But before she could opened her mouth to thank them for sticking by her during her constant switching between raging and sulking, a delicate knock on the door broke through the silence to lightly startled the trio.

It was a soft, timid sound – uniquely Charlie's.

“Vaggie, may I come in? Are you okay? Can we talk?” Charlie's careful voice could be heard from the other side of the door. The cute little goats happily scurried over, hopping about and looking to Vaggie for permission to open it for their “mother”. But Vaggie held out a hand to deny them, watching them pout a bit in disappointment. “I know you're upset with me, and I don't blame you.”

“Oh, no. I'm not upset at all,” Vaggie replied with harsh sarcasm, tone dripping with bitter venom. “Of course I'm upset, Charlie! Why wouldn't I be?”

She heard Charlie breath a soft sigh. “That's... That's fair. Can I come in? Please?”

Vaggie rolled her eye before standing up from the bed, folding her arms over her chest as she nodded for the pair of goats to unlock the door. “I don't see why not: it's your hotel, right? I'm just the help around here,” she added, wincing at how childish the jab was. It was like her mouth just ran on without her thinking at this point, being too exhausted to stop it by this point.

Charlie quietly opened the door and greeted Razzle and Dazzle happily, the boys bouncing around a bit in excitement at the sight of her. She leaned down and kissed their foreheads before spoiling them with pets and scritches. But her smile immediately disappeared as Vaggie's words sunk in, looking up at her in horror.

“Sweetie, please don't say that! You know you're so much more than that to me. You're my partner and girlfriend! I'd never think of you as just the 'help',” Charlie quickly assured her, shaking her head in disgust at the idea. She stood up to carefully place the gifted wine on the nearby writing desk before making her way over to Vaggie. “Baby, I understand that you're mad at me. But you know I love you and would never do anything to – ”

Charlie paused as she took in the heavy damage to the bedroom walls. Razzle and Dazzle followed her gaze and gave somewhat embarrassed smiles, causing Vaggie to turn her head away in remorse.

“Did you do that just now?” Charlie couldn't help but ask, voice thick with concern. She glanced down at Vaggie's injured hands and gasped, gently taking them in her own. “Vaggie, are you okay? Do you need – ”

“En serio! That's not important, Charlie! Stop it! Quit fussing over me and changing the subject!” Vaggie snapped, snatching away from Charlie and glaring up at her. “How could you let Alastor treat me that way? You just stood there and let him bully me out of your office – what should be our office, by the way! Not yours and his! Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking letting him have that much power in the first place? I'm your girlfriend, for Christ's sake! I've been the only one who has stood by you this entire time! Instead of sitting there and letting him take over, why didn't you put him in his place? You promised to set boundaries, but he walked all over you tonight! He had no right to butt in like that, Charlie.”

“But, Vaggie – ”

“No! You need to listen,” Vaggie cut her off, shaking her head. “I can't tell you how much it hurt for me to be driven away, and for you to allow it to happen. Instead of leaving with me, you just did who knows what for the rest of the night with that asshole. Did you even care how I would feel? Did I even cross your mind?”

Charlie's eyes widened and her lips parted silently, left stunned by Vaggie's raw emotion. She'd rarely seen her lover allow herself to be so nakedly vulnerable; Charlie was always the more “emotional” one of their relationship, and she sometimes found herself caught-off guard when the roles were switched. She gulped before stepping back and thought carefully on how to respond, afraid of escalating the situation further by being thoughtless.

“Vaggie, I never meant to hurt you. I hope you know that that's the last thing I'd ever want to do,” Charlie stuttered softly, her large eyes peering sadly down at the little moth. “But it doesn't change the fact that you are hurt, and I hate that it ended up this way.”

Vaggie didn't respond, opting to fixate on the cream-colored carpet beneath them as she hugged herself. The woman looked so small, so vulnerable, and all Charlie wanted to do was embrace her and apologize for everything. The desire to simply take on all blame if it meant making Vaggie feel better was overwhelming. That familiar feeling of guilt and self-loathing began to bubble forth in a thick suffocating overflow, spurring Charlie forward to do whatever was necessary to make things right with the love of her life.

As Charlie met her gaze, Vaggie's expression was almost unreadable for a moment.

...Until she realized it was one of confident expectation. Like she knew just how the scenario would end.

“There's got to be a line drawn somewhere, if you hope to have any freedom at all.”

Charlie came to an abrupt halt, nearly stumbling over herself as Alastor's unfiltered words rang in her head. She recalled how, over the past few weeks, Vaggie had seemed to do everything in her power to pull her away from a friendship she genuinely yearned to maintain, and adamantly refusing to grant her the basic respect of trust.

None of this was her fault. Yet here Charlie was, prepared to shoulder all the blame and validate Vaggie's actions. For her own sanity, enough was enough.

Vaggie looked on in confusion, raising a questioning brow. Charlie forced her hands down to her side and willed herself to look at Vaggie directly, firmly.

“Vaggie...” Charlie took in a deep, steadying breath. “I'm – I'm not going to apologize. And I'm not going to ask Alastor to either. Neither of us owe you that.”

The look of shock, betrayal and devastation Vaggie gave nearly made Charlie crumble again. She had to gulp down the lump in her throat before forcing herself to continue on, before she was inevitably cut off again.

“Look, I asked you to leave so Alastor and I could hang out. We hadn't gotten the chance to for weeks. I know you wanted me to set boundaries. I keep saying that nothing's going on, and I mean it – but I get it. You and Alastor don't get along, and I can understand why you'd want me to keep a safe distance. But I never agreed to not have a friendship with him,” Charlie continued, beginning to pace a bit as she unleashed her feelings and frustrations at long last. It was like a dam had burst open, and she couldn't help but lay everything out in the open. “Whether you like it or not, Al's been working just as hard as we have to keep this hotel afloat. Him wanting to celebrate a milestone with me wasn't unreasonable. In fact, it was very sweet. The two of us having a little celebration party didn't mean less time for me and you! I didn't and shouldn't have had to choose.”

Charlie turned to see that Vaggie was wordlessly watching her, mouth agape as she listened in stupefied silence.

“If anything, you were the one who gave me an ultimatum. You made me choose,” Charlie finished gently. “It wasn't fair for you to put me in that position, especially when I've gone out of my way to make you happy whenever you've asked. That hurt – that hurt a lot.”

Vaggie only stared back, her eye slowly narrowing. She moved to speak, but Charlie held up a hand.

“If you had just respected my decision, the situation would have never escalated the way it did. We could have been having our own date or something by now. But instead of trusting me, you had the nerve to fight me over it, and knowingly pressured me into giving in to what you wanted. Baby, I'd have never dreamed of doing that to you, even if I really wanted to! Do you have any idea how that made me feel?”

“I'm trying to look out for you!” Vaggie exploded, rolling her eye. “You don't know what you're getting yourself into, he's – ”

“Dammit, Vaggie, I can take care of myself! I'm not a child! I'm several times your age! I was a grown adult long before you even came to be! I'm not fucking stupid!” Charlie shot back, her eyes flashing dangerously as her crimson horns parted violently through her soft blonde hair. Vaggie jumped a bit, but Charlie couldn't care less in that moment. “I'm tired of you treating me like I can't do anything for myself! I understand why you're worried about Alastor, but I can handle this! I don't need you constantly hovering over me!”

“No you can't! If you could, you'd realize that trying to be friends with the Radio Demon is an inherently stupid idea!” Vaggie shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. “He's a fucking monster, Charlie. There's nothing there to redeem or salvage! He doesn't care about you or anything you're trying to do – he said so himself! He's nothing but a murderous narcissist looking to get his sick kicks, but you can't help but look at him through rose-colored glasses. You need to get your head out of the clouds before he ends up hurting you! You need to get it through your head that he's not, nor will he ever be, a friend!”

“Alastor is my friend! You don't get to decide that – I do!” Charlie snapped, glowering down at her furiously. Vaggie glared back, but noticeably deflated at her certainty. “Alastor is a close friend of mine. And I know that because – because he realized I was struggling back there. He knew I was just going to let you have your way no matter what, and that I needed someone to do what was best for me. I was grateful to him.”

Vaggie heart dropped at these words – that Charlie felt Alastor had stepped in to protect her from her. Her throat constricted and she felt the tears prick at her eyes again. She began to breath heavily and turned away, trying desperately to swipe away at her eyes. Charlie's anger immediately faded at the broken form of her girlfriend and she walked over to her, cupping her face. Vaggie could only look up at her pitifully, tears finally allowed to leave shimmering trails along her smooth cheeks.

“Vaggie, I love you. I know you have the best of intentions, and that I can always come to you if there's something I can't handle. You've been my rock for years – please don't think that I take you for granted. I think the world of you – and that's why it's so hard for me to say 'no' to you,” Charlie confessed, wiping a few tears from Vaggie's face with her thumbs. “I want to do what makes you happy. But you have to do the same for me. You need to trust me like I trust you.”

But the moth demon remained silent. Her lack of reaction concerned Charlie, and she released her face to squeeze her hands instead. Before she could scramble to find the words to soothe her, she caught sight of Razzle and Dazzle sitting on Vaggie's bed, strangely licking at their arms. Upon closer inspection, she could make out what seemed to be slight sear marks along their fur and clothes? Perplexed by Charlie's distracted silence, Vaggie followed her trail of vision and felt her stomach constrict painfully when she got a good look at the goats.

She hadn't meant for them to get hurt. Immediately after she'd been forced out of the office, Vaggie begged for Razzle and Dazzle to find another way inside and report what was going on just outside of her reach. She'd been a frantic mess, unable to think clearly. Her reaction must have given the poor things the impression that their master was in danger, as they immediately nodded their understanding and attempted to magically infiltrate the room. This impulsive request lead to instant remorse and horror for Vaggie: Razzle and Dazzle were sharply repelled by the powerful barrier encircling the office area, sizzling at the little butlers before tossing them back. She'd ran to their side and nearly broke down when they didn't respond right away, nearly crying in relief when they soon shook off the damage and moved to try again. Vaggie had no doubt that they would succeed given another chance, but them possibly hurting themselves on her account – or Alastor detecting what was going on – put her off the idea entirely. She'd been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't even think to stop and clean them up once they returned to her bedroom.

“They're just tired. And so am I,” Vaggie blurted out, answering the question she knew was playing on Charlie's tongue. Charlie looked down at her quizzically. “Look, I get it. I'll lay off, if that's what you want. Sorry for caring too much. You don't have to force yourself to be around me just to smooth things over.”

“Vaggie, that's not what I said at all. And I want to be with you because I love you, not to butter you up,” Charlie sighed. She picked up the wine bottle and gave it a small shake, giving Vaggie a little smile. “Come on, we can have the rest of the night off and spend it together doing whatever you like. I think we both need it.”

“No. I need to be alone right now,” Vaggie declined, folding her arms and turning her back to Charlie. “Look, don't worry about it. I've got my own shit to sort out. I just need some time to myself for a while.”

“Think things over?” Charlie squeaked, the vague wording making her heart skip a beat. “Vaggie, please don't do this.”

“I'm not saying I'm breaking up with your or anything. I just need space,” Vaggie huffed. “I'm not in the mood for anything right now. Maybe later. I'd like you to leave, please.”

Charlie bit her lip to prevent a harsh retort spilling out. Oh, you need space?

Her heart was pounding at the cold rejection, but she forced a smile and nodded, setting the bottle back down on Vaggie's desk. She walked over and gently hugged her lover from behind, placing a kiss on her silver hair. Vaggie didn't move or respond, though seemed to relax a bit at her presence.

“Alright, I understand. I'll be here for you whenever you want to talk. Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning, okay?”

“Yeah, you too. Goodnight, mi amor.”

Sighing softly, Charlie gave Vaggie one more dejected glance before lightly clicking her tongue to beckon Razzle and Dazzle to her side. They followed their mistress out of Vaggie's bedroom, Charlie gently closing the door behind her. Once she heard the door close, Vaggie finally allowed herself to relax and look back toward the entrance. Her eye cast downward, shame and regret washing over her like a bitterly cold downpour.

I fucked up bad, Vaggie finally admitted to herself, rubbing her arm before settling back on her bed. She lied back on the soft sheets and pillows, staring up at the canopy overhead. Why couldn't I just apologize?

But she was protecting Charlie. Whether or not she'd eventually realize and appreciate it, Vaggie needed to do what' was best for them both. If she didn't, Alastor was going to drive them apart.

She'd just have to be more careful from now on.


End file.
